Al Roker's Behind-The-Scenes Personality Is Reportedly A Far Cry From His On-Camera Behavior

Billy Bush didn't hold back when discussing his former "Today" co-worker, Al Roker. He claimed that the affable on-air personality fans see hides how the long-time NBC host acts when cameras are not filming. While appearing on "The Nerve with Maureen Callahan" podcast on June 12, Bush was candid — and inflammatory — when discussing his time working with Roker. "The way I describe Al is three words: territorial, vindictive, and chronically unprepared," he said, attacking the way Roker approached the interview process. Bush then claimed that the beloved version of Roker that fans see is a far cry from his actual behavior. "He's mean. He's a mean person," Bush said. "When you say rageful and all that, there is rage in there," he added.

During his brief time working on "Today," Bush said that Roker often greeted him with hostility because he was threatened. According to Bush, the untold truth of Roker was that his behind-the-scenes behavior almost led to him being fired. "We're gonna get [Roker] out of this deal. When this is up, we're going to get him off this hour because he is toxic," Bush recalled an NBC executive telling him. That never came to pass, as it was Bush who left "Today" in October 2016, following the leak of the incendiary conversation he previously had with Donald Trump.

Before they ever worked together, a TMZ video went viral in March 2014 that showed Roker jokingly berating Bush, who was attempting to film a segment. "Everybody in this f***in' crew wants to say, but they don't. They're afraid to damage your f***in' fragile ego," Roker said as crew members laughed. Bush's description of the real-life Roker was closer to that persona. Another former "Today" host has also accused Roker of being "mean."

Megyn Kelly went scorched earth in a January interview with the Daily Mail while describing the "meanest" celebrities she had encountered. The former Fox News personality named Bruce Willis and Jane Fonda among the meanies. She also said that one of the dark secrets of the "Today" cast was that Al Roker was among those "mean" A-listers. Kelly had a colorful way of describing her dislike for Roker. "Let's just say, if my mother ran into Al Roker, she would turn into Larry David bumping into Alan Dershowitz at Martha's Vineyard very quickly," she told the publication.

The feud between the two dated back to Kelly's time on "Today" when she was fired from the show after questioning why it was offensive for white people to dress in blackface for Halloween. After facing intense blowback for her comments, Kelly did issue an on-air apology, but Roker felt the gesture fell short. "The fact is, she owes a bigger apology to folks of color around the country," he said on the daytime show (via The Guardian). "This is a history, going back to the 1830s [with] minstrel shows. To demean and denigrate a race wasn't right," Roker said.

Years later, Kelly continued to hold a grudge. Months after she labeled him one of the "meanest" celebs, Kelly bashed Roker on an episode of "The Megyn Kelly Show" that aired in April. "Here's your apology Al, go f*** yourself, fat man. F*** off!" Kelly said. "For many years I've wanted to say this," she added.