‘Toxic’ Al Roker Slammed by Former ‘Today Show’ Co-Worker (Video)

Billy Bush is taking a flamethrower to his former Today show colleague Al Roker.

The former Access Hollywood host, 54, appeared on the June 12 episode of The Nerve With Maureen Callahan podcast and unloaded on Roker, accusing the beloved TV weatherman of being anything but the cheerful, grandfatherly figure viewers see on morning television.

Bush described Roker, 71, in three blistering words: “Territorial, vindictive and chronically unprepared.”

He also claimed Roker’s sunny on-air personality was just an act once the cameras stopped rolling.

According to Bush, the tension began almost immediately after he joined the third hour of Today in 2016. Bush said he could feel that both Roker and Matt Lauer did not want him there.

“They were territorial,” Bush said, adding that the atmosphere in the studio made it obvious. “You could feel it. I could feel it in the room with them.”

But Bush’s most explosive claim was that Roker was allegedly on the verge of being pushed out before Bush’s own career imploded.

Bush alleged that a producer privately told him to hang in there because NBC had plans to remove Roker from the third hour of Today.

“Then we’re gonna unload Al,” Bush claimed the producer told him. “We’re gonna get him out of this deal. When this is up, we’re going to get him off this hour because he is toxic and then we’re going to find you a forever partner and you’ll do a two-person show.”

That future never happened.

Soon after, Bush’s infamous 2005 Access Hollywood conversation with Donald Trump resurfaced during the 2016 presidential campaign. In the tape, Trump made crude comments about grabbing women, while Bush was heard laughing along.

The backlash was immediate and brutal. Bush was fired from NBC, his career was derailed, and Roker stayed put on Today.

Bush has previously said the public fallout left him so devastated that he became suicidal.

Now, years later, he appears to still believe he was walking into a bigger role at Today before the scandal blew everything apart.

Bush also accused Roker of trying to damage him behind the scenes. He recalled being told that Roker had allegedly liked a tweet that called Bush a “whitesplaining racist.”

“I’m the new guy and this dude’s liking tweets from people that are calling me things that are career ending and awful and not true,” Bush said.

When Callahan asked why Roker has managed to stay on television for so long, Bush did not hold back.

“People don’t know how mean he is,” Bush said. “He’s mean.”

He doubled down moments later, saying Roker has a jealous streak and does not like sharing the spotlight.

“He’s a mean person,” Bush said. “When you say rageful and all that, he’s there, it’s rage in there. There’s jealousy and I talk about vindictiveness, but he’s mean. He doesn’t share the air.”

Bush claimed Roker reacts badly when anyone else on Today starts getting attention.

“He sees somebody doing well on the Today Show and immediately it’s ‘take them down,’” Bush alleged.

Roker has not publicly responded to Bush’s latest accusations.

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