A month and a half after Ann Curry was unceremoniously dumped from her job on Today, reportedly with the full blessing of co-host Matt Lauer, her buddy Al Roker decided to get a little revenge via surprise, snarky comment. The sneak attack was made while Lauer was finishing up an interview with the gold medal-winning rowing team in which the ladies discussed throwing one of their own into the water to celebrate their victory. Lauer said it was like the New York tradition of throwing people in the Hudson River, and Roker shot back that it was like the Today tradition of throwing each other under the bus.
No one saw the comment coming, including the other on-air personalities who did their best to frantically play off the normally affable weatherman’s sneaky left hook. You can take a look at footage of the incident below…
I’m not going to criticize Al for what he did. It was unfair of NBC to axe Curry without giving her time to get comfortable, and if Lauer really did say he wouldn't return if she remained, that was poor form. That being said, comments like this are causing Good Morning America to draw even with Today. When people tune into a morning show, they want to say a well-oiled machine filled with good chemistry and good-natured laughs. For decades, Today ran on that exact format, but as the behind the scenes madness has heated up, the on-air product has started slumping.
Here’s to hoping everyone can get on the same page sooner rather than later.
