A man was taken into custody after breaking into the Today show’s studio in New York City on Thursday, July 16. The intrusion unfolded around 9 a.m. when the man made his way into the NBC studio at Rockefeller Plaza,
Once inside, the man confronted co host Craig Melvin and directed a racial slur at him, the source said. TMZ was first to report the incident and noted that no one was physically harmed during the encounter.
A law enforcement source confirmed that the man was detained at the studio Thursday morning. The source said the man had asked for longtime weatherman Al Roker before he was stopped.
Despite the disruption, the broadcast carried on. 1. Roker, 71, 2. Melvin, 47, and their fellow co hosts continued the live show after the intruder was removed from the set. Authorities detained the intruder after he slipped past security at NBC’s Rockefeller Plaza studio during Thursday’s live broadcast.
Guthrie announces she is stepping away
The break in occurred on the same day co anchor Savannah Guthrie announced she will step away from her duties at the anchor desk temporarily. Guthrie, 54, told viewers during Thursday’s broadcast that she will be off the show for the next several weeks while she films a new project.
The project is a game show based on the popular word puzzle Wordle. Guthrie said the crew is preparing to begin production and will shoot the entire season over the coming weeks. She indicated the show will likely premiere sometime in the new year.
Guthrie first revealed in May that she had signed on to host the Wordle based series, which is being executive produced by Jimmy Fallon. The announcement of her hosting role came months after a difficult personal chapter for the anchor and her family.
A tough year for Guthrie’s family
Guthrie’s new hosting gig arrives more than five months after her mother’s disappearance shook the family. 1. Nancy Guthrie, 84, was abducted from her home in Tucson, Arizona, on Feb. 1. 2. The case prompted an extensive search effort and drew national attention as authorities worked to locate her.
Savannah stepped back from her anchor desk duties for two months as the search continued, returning to Today in April. Her return to the broadcast marked a significant moment for the show and its viewers, many of whom had followed the developments in her mother’s case closely.
Thursday’s studio breach adds a new layer of concern for the morning show, which has weathered a series of high profile moments in recent months. Security protocols at NBC’s Rockefeller Plaza studios are typically tight given the location’s status as a major tourist draw and its position along one of the busiest broadcast rows in the country.
Neither NBC nor representatives for Melvin or Roker have publicly detailed how the man managed to bypass security measures to reach the studio floor. It also remains unclear what, if any, charges the man may face following his detainment.
The Today show has not indicated whether it plans to review or adjust its security procedures following the incident.
For now, the show’s hosts appear to be moving forward with their regular programming schedule, even as Guthrie prepares for her temporary departure to begin work on the new Wordle series alongside Fallon’s production team.
