Fuming and Furious! Jenna Bush Hager and Hoda Kotb Explode On Live TV Over Golden Globe Nomination SNUB That Has Fans Screaming – ‘How Could They Forget HER?!

Hoda Kotb and her cohost, Jenna Bush Hager, couldn’t hide their frustration on Monday morning as they discussed the nominations for the 2025 Golden Globes.

Just five minutes into the latest episode of Today with Hoda & Jenna, the duo were fuming about the fact that Jon M. Chu wasn’t recognized in the Best Director category for Wicked.

Hoda, 60, told viewers watching at home: ‘I want to preface our next topic by saying we’re angry and it’s on our jangly, what happened,’ as Jenna, 43, added: ‘Like the jangle has already gone, the jangly is gone!’

The mother-of-two continued: ‘The Golden Globe Awards were announced this morning and we were very happy for many things.’

She and Jenna then said in unison: ‘Cynthia Erivo, Wicked, Ariana Grande, Wicked, Best Actress, Supporting Actress, Wicked was nominated for Best Motion Picture, so it’s all great except one huge gap.’

Jenna continued: ‘And this is what is on our jangly, the bad news – that we’re very disappointed about – is Jon Chu, who is the director of Wicked and the amount of work he had to do to make that so incredible was not nominated.’

‘Okay, sorry Jon, we don’t know what happened there,’ Hoda said, as Jenna added: ‘In fact, if we could call somebody at the Golden Globes, but we can’t because we don’t know anybody, but we would be calling them right now!’

Gushing about the blockbuster film, Hoda then commented: ‘That was a visual masterpiece, period,’ as Jenna claimed: ‘Everybody said it was like going back to the olden times in Hollywood with all of the dancing scenes….

‘Everything he had to do to make it as colorful and as beautiful,’ she continued, as Hoda replied: ‘Because that was such a tricky movie to pull off, because to make it something that was so incredible, it took the best director.’

Jenna then joked: ‘We need to take whoever decided that and have them watch Cats over and over again just to show them how hard it is to direct a masterpiece!’

Hoda predicted: ‘He will get an Oscar nomination for sure,’ to which Jenna fired back: ‘If he doesn’t…,’ as Hoda added confidently: ‘No, he will, he will, that’s a given.’

Wicked, the movie adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, earned four nominations on Monday morning, including for pop sensation Ariana, 31, and Tony winner Cynthia, 37, as the green-skinned Elphaba.

Ariana – earning her first ever Golden Globe nomination – features in the category for Best Supporting Female Actor – Motion Picture, courtesy of her role as Galinda Upland in the fantasy drama.

The versatile star will compete alongside close friend Selena Gomez for her role in Emilia Perez, and Margaret Qualley, who won universally positive reviews for body shock horror The Substance.

Wicked also receives a nod in the Cinematic and Box Office Achievement category with hit films including Gladiator II – overlooked in every other category on Monday – Deadpool & Wolverine, Twisters, Inside Out 2 and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

The Best Director category saw nominations for Jacques Audiard (Emilia Pérez), Sean Baker (Anora), Edward Berger (Conclave), Brady Corbet (The Brutalist), Coralie Fargeat (The Substance) and Payal Kapadia (All We Imagine As Light).

Movie buffs were also disappointed to learn that Dune director Denis Villeneuve didn’t make the list either.

Upon hearing the news that Jon had been snubbed, Wicked fans quickly took to X – formerly Twitter – to share their thoughts.

‘Jon chu was ROBBED,’ one person wrote, while another said: ‘Jon Chu getting snubbed for Wicked is a horrible way to start the week.’

A third person commented: ‘Jon Chu deserved that nomination,’ and a fourth added: ‘How in the hell was Jon M. Chu missed for #Wicked.’

Prior to his work on Wicked, Jon directed various other

The backlash from Hoda and Jenna seems to have touched the hearts of many fans, as a series of comments continue to pour in on social media expressing dissatisfaction with this year’s Golden Globe nominations. This becomes even more surprising when Wicked – a work that was carefully invested in both content and image – did not include its director in the most important category.

Jon M. Chu is no stranger to Hollywood. Before Wicked, he demonstrated his ability to tell artistic cinematic stories through outstanding works such as Crazy Rich Asians – a film that caused a big stir and marked an important milestone for diversity in the US film industry. Then, with In the Heights, Jon continued to affirm his skills with colorful staging, lively music, and cinematic camera movements.

Therefore, the fact that he was not nominated for Best Director made many people confused. As Jenna said on air, “How can you look at everything Jon did on Wicked—from the sets, to the costumes, to the lighting, to the special effects—and not recognize it with a nomination?”

What’s more, Wicked is more than just a musical adaptation. It’s a work that carries huge expectations from Broadway music lovers and mainstream film fans. Chu has skillfully balanced the technical elements of cinema with the spirit of the original stage—a difficult problem that not every director can solve. Hoda emphasized on air: “This is a work that could easily have been a failure if not directed properly. And Jon did it, even exceeding expectations.”