Photo: Instagram
It's not exactly a feud...
By Amy Lamare — Written on Nov 02, 2019
Things got a little ... awkward on the Today Show this week. Al Roker and Craig Melvin are usually full-on showing their love for each other. It's a bromance. But something happened this week that put that relationship in jeopardy. On Wednesday, October 30, Roker and Melvin got into it over the World Series game on Tuesday night. Melvin is a Washington Nationals fan and they beat the Houston Astros 7-2 (and went on to win the World Series by winning game 7 on Wednesday night). The conversation about baseball got so heated that Melvin blurted out: "Why don't you give us one of your inaccurate forecasts?"
Well, at that point you couldn't a pin drop on the famous Today Show set. Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie turned to Melvin, shaking their heads and saying "wow" and "no." Weird, right? Is there some Today rule that you can't sass off to Roker?
Roker said: "Pardon?" And began walking towards Melvin.
"Sorry I forgot. Sorry, sorry, sorry," Melvin said. Hmmm.
What's going on with the Al Roker/Craig Melvin feud?
1. The spin
According to Us, the interaction was playful fun. A source told Us: “Craig and Al play around like this all of the time on camera and are friends [and] hang out off-camera." I don't know. Hoda and Savannah looked super-shocked when Melvin blurted out the bit about the "inaccurate forecasts." And, as we learned from Ronan Farrow, NBC isn't exactly truthful about what goes on behind the scenes of the network.
2. Roker previously expressed a 'man crush' on Melvin
In an article for Variety back in September, Roker wrote about the man crush he has on the new Today Show news anchor. He wrote: “I’m just going to come right out and say this. I have a man crush on Craig Melvin, and I don’t care who knows it. How can you not love this guy? He’s a young Southerner who was raised by a mom who was a teacher and a dad who worked shifts at the post office in South Carolina. I love that even though he's so young, he has made his success the old-fashioned way: through hard work, coming up through local news in South Carolina, winning Emmy Awards, becoming an honored anchorman."
3. Melvin's NBC tenure
In 2012, NBC viewers got their first look at Craig Melvin when he anchored the MSNBC coverage of the Democratic and Republican National conventions. He then anchored TVOne's Election Night coverage in partnership with NBC News. He was a correspondent for NBC covering the July 2013 crash of Asiana Airlines 2014, the George Zimmerman trial, the Sandy Hook school shootings in December 2012 and the West Fertilizer Company factory explosion in Texas in April 2013, among other things. In August 2018, he became a news anchor on Today. In October 2018, he was made a co-host of Today Third Hour. He was made the permanent anchor in January 2019.
4. Melvin's tribute to Roker
In August, Craig Melvin took to his Instagram account to post birthday wishes to Al Roker. He captioned the photo below: "Here’s to the guy who makes everyone smile, laugh, and better. @alroker is 65 today. He’s like a fine win,e though. A little better every year. Happy birthday brother."
5. Al Roker's Today Show tenure
Al Roker has been the weatherman and co-host of the Today Show since January 26, 1996. At 65, he is the elder statesman on the cast. Although he is a co-host on Today Third Hour, NBC News has never announced that this position is official for Roker. In regards to his "inaccurate weather forecasts," it should be noted that his American Meteorological Society Television Seal (#238) is inactive.
6. Does it all stem from jealousy?
Craig Melvin was officially made co-host of Today Show's third hour in January 2019. Roker has been unofficially serving in that position for some time. He used to co-host the third hour of the Today Show back from November 2012 to February 2017 when it was called Today's Take. That iteration of the third house was canceled.
Well folks, there just isn't enough info yet to declare this an official feud. Perhaps Roker sees Melvin as the guy brought in to eventually replace him. In that case, there will be some emotions simmering under the surface that are sure to blow over from time to time.
Amy Lamare is a Los Angeles based writer and editor covering entertainment, pop culture, beauty, fashion, fitness, technology, and the intersection of technology, business, and philanthropy. You can find her on Instagram and Facebook.