Billy Bush went off on a wild rant about longtime Today host Al Roker, calling his former colleague a “mean person.”
The 54-year-old journalist joined NBC in August 2016 to co-host Today’s third hour, alongside Roker, who has been on the program since 1996. Bush was fired two months later after the resurfacing of his 2005 outtake for Access Hollywood, where U.S. President Donald Trump boasted his ability to sexually harass women, and Bush appeared to laugh along.
Bush reflected on his brief time with NBC and his experience working with fan-favorite weatherman Roker, 71, during a recent episode of The Nerve with Maureen Callahan podcast.
“The way I describe Al is three words: territorial, vindictive, and chronically unprepared,” he claimed, alleging that his hour on the air for Today was “never successful” because Roker “may be the worst interviewer on television.”
Bush claimed that when he asked a few questions to guests, Roker would “get jealous” of him. He added the weatherman and former anchor Matt Lauer — who was fired in 2017 amid allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior — “definitely did not want” him there.
“I could feel it in the room with them,” he said, before claiming that Roker liked a tweet that called Bush a “white-splaining racist.”
“I was on the air with him every day, so I was like, ‘I’m here. I’m the new guy, and this guy is liking tweets from people that are calling me things that are career-ending, awful, and not f***ing true,’” he continued. However, Bush alleged that when he went to his boss about the situation, nothing happened.
“Al had been there forever, so he kind of, you know, he gets free run of the place for his many credentials and one of them being longevity,” he added. “People don’t know how mean he was. He’s mean. He’s a mean person. When you say rageful and all that, it’s mean. There is rage in there. There’s jealousy. And I talk about vindictiveness, but he’s mean.”
According to Bush, Roker “doesn’t share the air” with his peers. “He sees somebody doing well on the Today show, and immediately it’s, ‘take them down,’” he said.
The radio host concluded the rant by criticizing Roker’s weather reports, saying, “You’re never going to hear anything that’s truly insightful. That’s not what he’s there for.”
The Independent has contacted Roker for comment.
Bush has previously spoken about how his career changed after the infamous Access Hollywood clip with Trump was released.
“Suicidal thoughts pop into your head. I’d never seriously do it – because I have children that matter,” he told The Daily Best in 2019 about the aftermath of his Today firing. “But when you’re really low – and this is important to include – you’re emoting at the most extreme.
“But I’m never ever a serious candidate for that. I would not, could not do that to those who count on me and love me and need me. Absolutely not.”
Three years after he was fired by NBC, Bush joined Extra as the host of its syndicated entertainment news program. He left the position last year and now hosts his own podcast, Hot Mics with Billy Bush.
