It’s finally Halloween, which means it’s time for the hosts of the Today show to continue their tradition of dressing in elaborate, coordinated costumes.
For 2023, the group dressed as music superstars past and present as part of a “Kellyoke” theme, chosen in honor of Kelly Clarkson moving her talk show from Los Angeles to New York City. Jenna Bush Hager and Hoda Kotb pulled off a team costume as Sonny Bono and Cher, respectively, while Al Roker dressed as Lionel Richie. Savannah Guthrie, meanwhile, went all out as Taylor Swift on the Eras Tour.
Last year, the anchors drew their Halloween inspiration from the city of Las Vegas. Roker dressed as the late Sammy Davis Jr., while Kotb and Guthrie wore Cirque du Soleil–inspired unitards. Bush Hager, meanwhile, channeled Vegas mainstay Celine Dion, while Peter Alexander and Kristen Welker went as Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, respectively. (Affleck, 51, and Lopez, 54, tied the knot in Las Vegas in July 2022 before having a second ceremony with family and friends one month later.)
Many celebrities were asked to get creative this year because of the ongoing Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists strike. Earlier this month, the union released guidelines for how striking actors could celebrate Halloween without crossing the picket line.
“This Halloween, we wanted to make sure our members don’t inadvertently break strike rules, and have put together some quick tips on the dos and don’ts for costumes,” read a notice shared via the official SAG-AFTRA strike website on October 18. “Check them out and have a spooktacular Halloween!”
Actors can “dress up as characters from non-struck content, like an animated TV show,” but were advised not to “post photos of costumes inspired by struck content to social media.”
Megan Fox came under fire for seemingly breaking the rules with her Gogo Yubari costume, which she documented via Instagram on Saturday, October 28. The actress, 37, dressed up as Chiaki Kuriyama’s character from Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Vol. 1, while Fox’s fiancée, Machine Gun Kelly, wore an outfit inspired by Uma Thurman’s Beatrix Kiddo character.
In the caption of her post, Fox tagged the official Instagram account of SAG-AFTRA.
One day later, Abbott Elementary star Lisa Ann Walter slammed Fox for flouting the regulations. “What a rebel,” Walter, 60, tweeted on Sunday, October 29. “Keep posturing for stupid s–t, pretty lady. Meanwhile we’ll be working 10 hours a day — unpaid — to get basic contract earners a fair deal.”
Keep scrolling for more photos of the Today hosts’ 2023 Halloween costumes:
