Billy Bush bashed his former Today Show co-star Al Roker, calling the 71-year-old veteran weatherman “toxic” and “unprepared.” The former Access Hollywood host claimed that Roker created a hostile work environment during his stint.
Billy Bush reflects on his fallout from Access Hollywood and NBC while bashing Al Roker
According to OK! Magazine, on the June 12 episode of The Nerve With Maureen Callahan podcast, the 54-year-old radio and television host alleged that Roker’s “jovial” on-screen persona was merely an act for the cameras.
The statement came after Callahan mentioned she had “always sensed rage just beneath” Roker’s overly friendly demeanor. The podcast host then played an old clip of Roker confronting Bush during a segment, where he was seen yelling, as quoted by RadarOnline, “You don’t know where I’m going to be. I am going to be your worst nightmare. I’m going to live on you like a tick.”
In response, Bush reflected on his former colleague, saying, “The way I describe Al is three words. Territorial, vindictive, and chronically unprepared.” Adding, “It would never be a successful hour because he’s maybe the worst interviewer on television, and he’s totally unprepared. And I came in for the new job, and I was to be the lead person on that hour.”
Bush said he was told by the then Today Show general manager Noah Oppenheim, “You need to survive until March [2017], and then we’re going to unload Al. We’re going to get him out of this deal. When his contract is up, we’re going to get him off this hour because he is toxic.”
The former Access Hollywood host worked with the NBC morning show weatherman for two months in 2016, and has nothing but terrible memories of how Roker, 71, was outwardly “mean” and “jealous” toward him.
Bush joined NBC’s Today Show in August 2016, but was fired in October 2016 after the infamous 2005 Access Hollywood tape leak, in which the then-future President Donald Trump said his fame allowed him to grab women’s private parts, reports the Daily Mail. On the other hand, Roker has remained on the Today Show since joining as a weekday weather anchor in January 1996. He recently marked his 30th anniversary with the NBC program and has said he has no immediate plans to retire, reports FOX Baltimore.
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