Hoda Kotb had reason to celebrate over the weekend as she was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame, along with her co-star Savannah Guthrie.
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The Today star left everyone in awe during her powerful speech, including Savannah, who after listening to Hoda told the audience: "Life lesson, never follow Hoda Kotb."
The mom-of-two's speech gave a powerful message to women about speaking up and knowing their worth.
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After opening up about Viola Davis, who "spent most of her life and much of her career not feeling worthy," she continued: "Tomorrow, I'm gonna interview Rita Moreno and in all my research Rita said the same thing: throughout her career and throughout her life, she felt like she was not worthy.
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"She was belittled, she was degraded and somehow she accepted that treatment."
"Which brings me to the women in this room, all of the fabulous fantastic women in this room. I don't know what you make in your salary but I'll say this: you deserve more. I don't know what position you have but you're probably due a promotion. We need to know our worth."
Today's Hoda Kotb gave a powerful speech during her special evening
She added that she was "speaking to myself, too" and revealed how she had spent "a lot of my career thinking I didn't deserve all the things I got, even if I worked so hard."
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"I didn't even know if I deserved to have a family of my own," she explained, before revealing how Savannah's advice inspired her to see things differently.
Hoda has a close bond with her co-star Savannah Guthrie
"She said this: 'If you have a wish, or if you have a hope, or if you have a dream, say it out loud, even if it's just to yourself in the bathroom mirror, even if it's just a whisper, say it out loud,'"
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"My wish was to have kids, but I wasn't sure if I deserved them and I was afraid to say it out loud because when you say it out loud it's real. But guess what happened? I said it out loud, God heard me and I have five-year-old Haley and three-year-old Hope.
Hoda with her daughters
"This is a long way of saying, ask for what you want, ask for the raise, ask for the promotion, ask for the family, even if it's just a whisper.
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"This award is to all the women who felt not worthy: you are worth it and so am I."
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