‘Today’ Host Savannah Guthrie Catches Heat After Apology for Swearing

The TODAY Show team had an embarrassing slip-up Wednesday when host Savannah Guthrie let out a swear word on air, and Twitter had mixed emotions about the mishap.

Guthrie appeared to be preparing for a segment during a commercial break when a shot of her, with her microphone still hot, showed the anchor letting out a four-letter swear word.

“Oh, s—,” Guthrie was heard saying. “Sorry, guys.”

The audio was then cut from the scene, but Guthrie remained on camera for about 30 seconds before NBC cut to another commercial. She was looking down and reading from her notes for the duration of the awkward moment.

After the incident, the 46-year-old took to Twitter to apologize for her NSFW slip.

“Check, check — is this thing on? Yeah I guess it is. So sorry guys,” she wrote. “Thanks for being kind and understanding. And guess it’s [a] good thing I don’t wear a mic all day.”

Some of Guthrie’s fans reassured the anchor that her mishap wasn’t taken personally, writing that “it was hysterical” and made her “more real than ever.”

But others got fired up over the moment in question, questioning the mother of two’s parenting skills and professionalism after they heard the swear word.

“So that means you swear all of the time?” a critical follower wrote. “Not good when your 3 year old is present.”

“Savannah has a POTTY MOUTH!” another added.

Others slammed Guthrie for the incident by connecting her actions to those of Matt Lauer, who was famously fired last year for “inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace.”

“I’m sure this is what always goes on. You are one way on mic and another off mic. You know the same way you were about Matt your buddy,” a follower wrote. “And [NBC] has you remain as anchor?? This is why I do not watch the morning show anymore.”

Another wrote, “NO, I don’t understand. I would be fired from my job if I did that. You are too much like Matt Lauer. Not good. Sorry.”

Guthrie and newly-tapped co-anchor Hoda Kotb have been leading the charge at TODAY since Lauer’s termination in November. While the pair have been met with a massive ratings boost and positive attention, they have revealed previously that they were blindsided and saddened to hear reports of their former colleague’s behavior.

“I think you could see from the moment that the news happened that our hearts were broken, and in lots of ways, they still are,” Guthrie told PEOPLE in January. “That feeling was shared through our whole newsroom and our whole Today show staff, because it sounds like cliché or a promo line, but it happens to be true: We are family, and we do love each other, and families do go through hard times, and when that happens in good families, you just get closer. You pull together and you focus on the foundation and what keeps you together.”

“I think that’s what we’ve all been trying to do. And for me, I just am trying to get comfortable with how complicated the feelings around all of it are, and it is complicated. And just trying to have love and compassion for everyone concerned,” she added.

Guthrie and Kotb co-anchor the 7-9 a.m. hours of NBC’s weekday broadcast. Since their partnership, Today‘s ratings beat rival ABC’s Good Morning America as the top morning program in overall viewership for the longest period since August 2016.