LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: ‘Today’ meteorologist Al Roker teased and playfully mocked renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson on live air during his appearance as a guest on the morning show.
The 68-year-old ‘Today’ host mocked Neil for busting out his ‘happy dance’ moves when he answered a quiz question correctly.
However, all of Al Roker’s interaction with the morning show guest was extremely cringe to watch and the meteorologist didn’t hesitate to take a swipe at the scientist for his ‘awkward’ victory dance.
Al Roker didn’t want to 'see' Neil deGrasse Tyson’s ‘happy dance’
Al Roker decided to quiz Neil deGrasse Tyson and his co-hosts as a part of his meteorologist report.
"In honor of Mr deGrasse Tyson, we have a lunar edition of [the on-air game] Who's Warmer?”
Al 'cued the Star Trek' music and invited Neil to stand beside him in front of the weatherboard. The question was imprinted on the board instead of the forecast.
Al asked Neil, who insisted that the weatherman call him by his first name instead of formally addressing him, to "help them" out with the impending inquiry.
The 'Today' meteorologist then posed his question. ”Who's warmer? Death Valley, California, or the Apollo 11 Landing Site?”
Neil stated that the answer depended on whether it was "day or night" at the Apollo 11 Landing Site. However, in the daytime, the Apollo 11 Landing Site is "way hotter," Neil explained.
Al revealed the answer on the digital board and Neil’s answer was correct. To celebrate his victory, Neil busted out his "happy dance.”
The 68-year-old meteorologist felt extremely cringe at the time and said, “I don't know if we really needed to see that,” leaving his co-hosts and Neil in splits.
Al Roker’s ‘awkward’ on-air blunder on ‘Today’
It wasn’t just Neil who suffered an awkward on-air encounter. Al Roker was a victim of a technical difficulty that rendered his mic useless.
Al struggled to get his microphone to work while on-air. His colleague Craig Melvin, tried to save the weatherman from another blunder on the morning show.
"You have to turn your microphone on Al," Craig told him while he fidgeted with the mic.
Later, Al took off his mic and put it in his hand to get a better look at it.
When a crew member came running with a wireless handheld mic, Al threw a shade at him and with a straight voice said, “I'm good; I got a mic. I turned it on.”
