
Twitter and other social media hubs are buzzing after the Today Show's Al Roker got very, very real on the topic of Ryan Lochte.
Roker said what many are thinking, that if the blond swimmer was black or Latino, he would not be getting the light treatment he's currently enjoying after he and members of the U.S. Olympic swim team embarrassed themselves and the country in a fabricated holdup incident in Brazil.
“He lied. He lied to you. He lied to Matt Lauer," Roker fumed. "He lied to his mom. He left his teammates hanging while he skedaddled...There was no robbery. There was no pull-over. There was nothing. Nobody cocked a gun to his head. He lied!”
Co-host Billy Bush made the mistake of telling Roker to "calm down."
By the end, Roker was left stirring his on-air cocktail, scowling.
Twitter erupted:
Ebony magazine Senior Editor Jamilah Lemieux responded to a tweet announcing that Lochte would be interviewed by Matt Lauer in his first post-scandal appearance by saying, "Al Roker deserves a seat at this table."
Al Roker deserves a seat at this table https://t.co/ryVaPD6K0V— Jamilah (@Jamilah)1471711576.0
BuzzFeed Culture's Executive Editor Saeed Jones said, "Al Roker is all of us."
Al Roker is all of us. RT @IAMKRIS24: Al Roker not having it https://t.co/wLdnrEHlvW— Saeed Jones (@Saeed Jones)1471711932.0
Author Clint Smith said, "Al Roker look more fed up then when you make your mama repeat herself after she asked you to do something."
Al Roker look more fed up then when you make your mama repeat herself after she asked you to do something https://t.co/teXnQ5nBAY— Clint Smith (@Clint Smith)1471715891.0
And more:
Al Roker holds it down for the truth, #LochteLied. https://t.co/MjLIm1bbWw— deray (@deray)1471705047.0
Just saw the Al Roker thing. A black man hasn't had to fix a Bush's mistakes like that since 2008.— 𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫 (@𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫)1471716318.0
We are all Al Roker stirring our drinks in fury.— no justice no peace (@no justice no peace)1471718564.0
Al Roker's calming phrase must be "move mojito". https://t.co/ogb2jqZYRE— Snow Bunny Crisis Actor (@Snow Bunny Crisis Actor)1471725859.0
@Tuphlos We need more diversity in the newsrooms. Al Roker shouldn’t be the sole voice of sanity.— Jennifer Foehner Wells 🚀 (@Jennifer Foehner Wells 🚀)1471730156.0
@SonyaOldsSom I am ready for a Today Show segment called @alroker Tells the Truth— Ms. Rosenberg (@Ms. Rosenberg)1471729971.0
Watch a version of the Roker video edited to sound like a game show:
When a person n the dominant society does something wrong, people stay on code to minimize it.But Al Roker kept it G pic.twitter.com/kK88LUYBmu
— Tariq Nasheed (@tariqnasheed) August 20, 2016
Watch the original segment, embedded below:
When a person n the dominant society does something wrong, people stay on code to minimize it.But Al Roker kept it G pic.twitter.com/kK88LUYBmu
— Tariq Nasheed (@tariqnasheed) August 20, 2016