Al Roker has drawn criticism after using an unexpected nickname for his Today co-host Jenna Bush Hager.
The 72-year-old weather presenter left his colleagues startled with what appeared to be an ill-judged remark about Hager’s clothing.
The awkward exchange was revisited during Thursday’s edition of Today with Jenna & Sheinelle.
Hager, 44, remembered an incident from Tuesday’s broadcast, explaining that she had walked onto the set wearing red when Roker greeted her by saying, “Hey, Big Red!”
Sheinelle Jones, 48, laughed while dramatically recreating the slow-motion reaction from the female hosts after hearing the nickname.
“All the girls were like, ‘No, no! Don’t say that!’” Jones recalled.
The presenters said Roker initially failed to see why his choice of words had caused such a reaction, until his female co-stars explained the problem.
“Savannah [Guthrie] was like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe you said that,’” Jones said.
Al Roker has faced backlash over the nickname he used for Today co-host Jenna Bush Hager.
The veteran broadcaster surprised his colleagues with an apparently clumsy comment about Hager’s red outfit.
Jones said Roker then turned to her and asked, “What did I do?”
She quickly explained the issue, telling him, “You can’t say anything that takes up space.”
“You can’t call somebody, a woman, ‘big!’” Hager added.
Jones jokingly suggested alternatives including “Skinny Red,” but Roker made another attempt to find an acceptable nickname.
“He was like, ‘Sorry, Tall Red!’” Hager recalled. “I’m like, ‘Not okay!’”
Hager has previously revealed that her three children with husband Henry Hager—Mila, 13, Poppy, 11, and seven-year-old Hal—have also called her “Biggie” or “Big Back.”
“I like humor in words, so I was like, ‘Oh, that’s creative.’ But I’m like, ‘Stop calling everybody Biggie. It’s gonna spread,’” she said in May.
The playful controversy follows another uncomfortable Today moment, coming only days after Roker was left speechless by Carson Daly’s reportedly awkward behavior on air.
The exchange occurred just days after Al Roker was left speechless by Carson Daly’s awkward on-air behavior during the Today show.
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Was Al Roker out of line for calling Jenna Bush Hager ‘Big Red’, or has an innocent joke been blown out of proportion?
The 72-year-old was faced with the unexpected encounter as he was gearing up to deliver the latest weather report on Monday.
Guthrie, flanked by co-hosts Daly and Jones, who was filling in for Craig Melvin, handed over to Roker for his segment.
Roker then enthusiastically gestured his appreciation as he attempted to respond.
‘Well guys, good morning,’ came the muffled reply from the weathercaster who quickly realized something was wrong.
He swiftly reached into his back pocket to retrieve his microphone pack as the panel shouted words of advice.
‘Just click it, push “on,”‘ Jones said, before Guthrie added: ‘Just talk really loud.’
But Daly had other ideas.
He could be heard from off camera offering his own microphone to Roker who was tapping at his equipment pack.
Roker seemed to have finally fixed the issue as Daly appeared in shot and swaddled him with a huge bear hug.
‘Oooh baby,’ the weathercaster said with his co-host remaining at very close quarters.
Daly eventually let Roker out of the hold but the move appeared to leave him speechless.
Seemingly struggling to find his words, Roker let out a nervous chuckle before he continued: ‘That was… that was awkward.’