What happened to Hoda and Jenna? Today Show’s new game causes a stir Thu 22 June 2023 13:31 Updated Thu 22 June 2023 16:03 Eve Edwards
Matthew Barrera
Published Apr 06, 2026
For any Today Show viewers who missed the latest game segment, here’s what you need to know about what happened between Hoda and Jenna.
Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager are the friendly faces that Today Show viewers wake up to every weekday morning, as hosts of the fourth hour of Today. The duo kick off the daytime TV show with feel-good stories to make sure you start your day on the right foot.
While Hoda and Jenna blend a mixture of current affairs and local news, they also throw in the odd game segment for both their entertainment and the viewers’. The latest of which saw Hoda take a firm stance on what was acceptable to say on-air.
Hoda and Jenna introduce a new game to play this summer
On Wednesday, June 21, Hoda and Jenna introduced a new game they’ve been enjoying playing: What’s the Name of this Game Again?
It sees the hosts face off as they are given a set of clues to help them guess the name of a TV show, movie, celebrity, and so on.
This game awards points to whoever shouts out the correct answer. It is relatively easy to play at home, coming up with your own set of clues to a secret answer. It also shares similarities with the trivia party game Linkee, which will be useful for anyone who doesn’t want to create their own answers.
What happened to Hoda and Jenna on Today’s new game?
Everything was all fun and games for the most part while introducing What’s the Name of this Game Again? to the Today Show viewers. But Hoda had to tell her longtime co-host to “stop saying” one particular phrase given it’s double-meaning.
When associate producer Sean Hickey quizzed the duo about the name of a movie, he gave the following clues: “Queen Latifah, she’s like an ex-con? moves into Steve Martin’s house, and falls in love with dad from ‘Schitt’s Creek.’”
Jenna, bamboozled by the clues about Queen Latifah and the “dad from ‘Schitt’s Creek’ [Eugene Levy],” repeats this latter clue several times. Clearly not realizing the TV show ‘Schitt’s Creek’ sounds awfully similar to a swearword, Hoda tells Jenna to “stop saying that” on-air.
What’s the name of this game again?
Hoda and Jenna are playing one of our favorite games!
— TODAY with Hoda & Jenna (@HodaAndJenna) June 21, 2023
The Today Show hosts respect law regarding curse words
According to the Federal Communications Commission, it is against federal law to broadcast obscene, indecent and profane content on the radio or TV. Obscene content is prohibited at all times of day, whereas indecent and profane content (such as nudity, sexual scenes, or foul language) is only prohibited between 6 am and 10 pm. This is to prevent children from being exposed to this type of content.
Despite Jenna referencing the TV sitcom Schitt’s Creek, the fact that it is a homophone of the curse word ‘s***’ was seen as a no-go for co-host Hoda.
