When Today show weatherman Al Roker was skimming through his Twitter feed on Tuesday, January 2, he read a comment that warranted a frosty reply.
“Sorry Hoda ur great with Kathylee but not as anchor,” wrote the troll. “was looking for a seasoned man — guess NBC doesn’t have one.”
The tweet was in response to Roker congratulating his colleague Hoda Kotb being named new co-anchor of Today. And it left the 63-year-old journalist seething.
“Sounds like you want a steak, not an anchor,” Roker shot back. When the commenter insisted, “it’s not a gender issue but rather personality,” Roker retorted: “I guess ‘seasoned man’ has nothing to do with gender. I misunderstood. Have a great day.”
Kotb, 53, was promoted to permanent co-anchor just one month after NBC News fired Matt Lauer over allegations of sexual misconduct in the workplace. She has been co-hosting the 10 a.m. hour of Today with Kathie Lee Gifford since 2008 — and will continue to do so while adding the 7 and 8 a.m. hours to her resume.
Savannah Guthrie made the announcement live on air on Tuesday. “Today it’s 2018 and we are kicking off the year right because Hoda is the new co-anchor of Today,” Guthrie, 46, said. “Let’s give her a round of applause. This has to be the most popular decision NBC News has ever made and I’m so thrilled.”
A beaming Kotb admitted she was “pinching” herself. “I think we should send some medics to my mom,” Kotb joked. “She has likely fainted.”
