"What are you doing here?" Al Roker jovially asked Natalie Morales on NBC's Today show this morning.
"Sorry, guys, you're stuck with me!" Morales replied with a smile before adding, "And you're stuck with Willie [Geist]!"
Yesterday, the hit morning show found itself at the center of reports claiming Morales and Geist had been let go from Today in addition to fellow co-host Tamron Hall being sent back to MSNBC, but on Thursday, the Today show team was back in full swing, poking fun at the fabricated rumors while proving that they are indeed a family.
"No, that's not what I read on the Internet!" Tamron Hall said, playfully mocking the tabloid tales.
"Aren't you supposed to be at MSNBC?" Roker quipped to his colleague to which she jokily replied, "I got demoted, bye!"
Geist, who appeared on the show via satellite from Brooklyn, also addressed the rumors, reiterating that there is absolutely no truth to the recent headlines.
"Well, Natalie and I walked into work yesterday and we looked at each other and said ‘What are you doing here?'…" he joked, before thanking fans for their support. "And I do want to say, and I know Natalie feels the same way, when this totally erroneous report came out, the support and the concern blew me away on Twitter and Facebook and phone calls and emails. So, it just reaffirmed for me how special this show is, how great our viewers are and I'm so grateful for all of that."
"It is," Natalie said, reaffirming Willie's sentiments. "Willie, I mean you tweeted it out yesterday and it was overwhelming. Each and every tweet and email really touched my heart. And I know we've all dealt with a lot of stuff the last couple weeks…," she said, grabbing her co-hosts hands. "And I have a lot of love for everyone here and you should know this show is stronger because of the people we work with every day."
Hall also noted that the hosts humorously addressed the erroneous reports backstage before pointing out the ridiculous ways rumors can spread: "What I love is how we all laughed about it when we came in, I said to Willie, 'Hey, short timer' and he said, 'Hey, demoted' and I said 'Natalie, what's your payout going to be?'
"But it is amazing," she continued. "In this day and age, one thing, and people repeat it. Did anyone play telephone?!"
No word yet on the telephone game—but it's safe to say the entire Today show team is here to stay!
(E! and NBC News are both part of the NBCUniversal family)