Cojo was allegedly fired from the Today show for agreeing to come on The Oprah Winfrey Show to talk about his life-threatening disease and organ donation.
Oprah: Is that true?
Cojo: It is absolutely true. … It speaks of the competitiveness and how cutthroat the business is. I want all these people to know what goes on behind the scenes. I mean, one minute I was getting flowers from the whole Today show staff. I was part of the family. They were very good to me—I can't deny that. … I was there four-and-a-half years. And they really made me feel like part of the family like Katie and Matt and Al and Ann—I really bonded with them. So I can't take that away. Because there have been a lot of ugly headlines and that hasn't been in there—the love. I love them now. I still love them. But one minute I get flowers from them saying 'Get better. We can't wait to get you back on the air.' The next minute I was forthcoming and I said, 'I'm doing [an interview with] you guys—we'll do a small thing—but I [also] really want to go on Oprah. I'm so passionate about this cause."
Cojo says that he was initially devastated to lose his job. "It was pain, pain, pain, feeling sorry for myself," he says, "and then one day it clicks. And I'm like, 'I just had a kidney transplant. Bring it on! I can survive anything.'"
