A man appearing on the Today show allegedly slipped through security and lunged at anchor Craig Melvin.
A “disabled person” inside the Rockefeller Center building was taken into custody around 9 a.m. on Thursday, July 16, the New York City Police Department confirmed to USA TODAY. According to People and TMZ, the man, who has not been identified, allegedly entered a restricted area of Rockefeller Plaza’s Studio 1A in search of weathercaster Al Roker, then confronted Melvin, 47, and yelled racial slurs at him.
The media reported that the man was taken into custody and no one was injured. The host did not mention the alleged incident on air, and everything appeared normal on air.
USA TODAY has reached out to the “Today” show for comment.
This incident seems to be rare on live television. In June 2020, amid protests following the death of George Floyd, NBC installed a temporary barrier as a precaution, but there were no reports of unauthorized access or damage. However, in recent years, accidents where stages collapse during live events have been occurring quite frequently.
On the same broadcast, host Savannah Guthrie addressed her situation on the morning talk show after several unexplained absences.
Guthrie, who was announced as the new game show host in May, said he will be “heading off to film ‘Wordle’ over the next few weeks.” “We’re going to be filming the whole season and we’re really excited about it.[We]can’t wait for everyone to see it. It’ll probably air in the new year.”
Guthrie’s fellow anchors, including Laura Jarrett and Today with Jenna & Sheinelle co-host Sheinelle Jones, joined Melvin in covering her in recent days. He attributed Gasly’s absence to a “deserved break”.
Contributor: Edward Segarra, USA TODAY
