Comedian Proposes Unique Method to Find Co-Host on ‘Today’

NEW YORK, N.Y. — Comedian Heather McMahan provided a humorous suggestion on Friday’s episode of Today with Jenna & Friends: a ‘fight club’ to determine Jenna Bush Hager‘s next permanent co-host.

During her guest hosting stint, McMahan lightheartedly proposed the idea as a way to narrow down the candidates. “I’ve genuinely had so much fun,” McMahan said. “I just want to pitch this: So I know you’re looking for a new permanent friend, but once it gets down to the top five, which I hope at some point I’ll be in that ranking, I think we should all have to wrestle in Rockefeller Plaza. Not like a fight to the death, a friendly Jenna & Friends fight club.”

The suggestion prompted laughter from Bush Hager and the rest of the Today crew. Bush Hager wittily responded, “Who would you throw in the ring with you?” McMahan quickly named possible contenders, saying, “I think I could pick up [insert name here]. I think I would be stronger than most of the gals or guys in the running.”

She added, “So, I’m just throwing that out there, if anyone would like to see it, we can raise money for charity. I will fight everybody for this job.” Bush Hager seemed intrigued, suggesting, “We should get the WWE people in, build a ring. We’ll be on that.”

While no permanent co-host has been confirmed since Hoda Kotb‘s departure in early January, the fourth hour of Today has been rebranded as Jenna & Friends, featuring a rotating panel of guest hosts. Eva Longoria, Keke Palmer, and Willie Geist have already joined Bush Hager, who remains tight-lipped on potential permanent candidates.

Actress Scarlett Johansson has surfaced as a strong candidate, having expressed her desire to stay on the show. Bush Hager disclosed, “Are you kidding me? We started a GoFundMe so you could be here all the time. It’s been a dream.” At another point, she invited Johansson to remain on the series, jokingly adding, “if we can round up a lot of money.”

Later in the broadcast, Bush Hager discussed her own family dynamics while sharing a humorous anecdote about her husband’s pre-birth colonoscopy. “My husband got a colonoscopy like two days before,” she said, emphasizing, “Please don’t put this on the internet.” When recalling the scenario, she laughed, “Why are you scheduling this appointment for right – I could be going into labor, but here I am picking you up from the clinic!”

During the episode, McMahan reminisced about her own entrepreneurial childhood after sharing a moment of nostalgia. Handler recounted starting a hard lemonade stand to improve her family’s financial situation when she was just 10 years old. “I quickly found out there was not a huge profit margin in a lemonade stand,” she said, sparking laughter among the audience and hosts.

Handler explained that she pivoted to serving alcoholic drinks to parents, which garnered her a lucrative return. “We made a fortune,” she stated, reminiscing about making $359 in their first week.

As Bush Hager shared her own family stories, the discussion turned to her children, the audience was entertained by tales of her daughter’s creative social media posts. “I’m just telling y’all, a little PSA for all my moms of tweens out there,” Bush Hager said.

She added, “My child does not have a cell phone; she just got an iPad last year.”

The episode concluded with Bush Hager reflecting on memorable moments, including losing a diamond from her wedding ring during an eventful 50th birthday party. She revealed her husband, Henry, was understanding and said, “He’s a tolerant person. My mom calls him a saint, which is really just saying I’m difficult to be with.”

Today with Jenna & Friends airs weekdays at 10 a.m./9 a.m. Central on NBC.