Al Roker, a famed journalist and forecaster, is in Louisiana to do his job as Hurricane Ida nears the U.S. Gulf Coast. Guess what? And hey, guess what?
One clip, or multiple clips, of Roker reporting from Louisiana's Lake Pontchartrain went viral Sunday. People from all walks of the globe expressed concern for the weather expert aged 67. It's crazy weather all around Roker in this footage. Roker is the one who does this. It's a skill he is very good at.
Twitter is a quick way to find out what people think about Roker.
"Al Roker's too old to do this shit. You need to get that man to a hotel. One user said, "He can tell me the weather from there." Another user wrote: "What did #ALRoker get up to in an attempt to piss off NBC?" It seems unfair to make him suffer in a Hurricane.
A whole lot of ageist commentary that is well-intentioned, but completely misguided. There are many other similar tweets. They don't have to hear from me so I won't link to them. They just need to hear it directly from the man.
They did. It reached such fever pitch that Roker was forced to respond. He should have been focusing on his job of informing the public, not worrying about whether he can do it.
Jonathan Capehart, MSNBC's Sunday Show host, spoke with Roker about how he feels about his work and the misconceptions people have about him.
"I was willing to go out there. This is what I do. He explained, with the patience of someone who's probably said the same thing many times before. "We all want to be safe and we don't do anything that could put us in danger. Although I love the weather and NBC, I won't risk my life to get it.
He also responded directly to those who believe he's too old to do the things he does: "Hey, guess What? Screw you! Keep going. Keep going. These young punks. They will be pursued. They will be taken away like dirt.
Here it is. Al Roker is reporting on the historic storm, and taking no ageist bullshit.
