'Today': Savannah Guthrie Reveals Illness, Missing Christmas Tree Lighting at Rockefeller Center
Savannah Guthrie is at home sick and will not be co-hosting the 2022 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting as previously planned. NBC is broadcasting the lighting of the iconic tree on Wednesday, Nov. 30, but its roster of talent has been sadly diminished this year. Guthrie announced on Instagram that she would not be able to attend.
"UGH – flu or something like it since Monday," Guthrie wrote alongside a photo of her thermometer, which displayed a temperature of 101.8 degrees. "I'm so sad to miss the tree lighting and TODAY. Hopefully, it passes soon! Miss everyone. I will be watching," she concluded with a tree emoji. Guthrie got an outpouring of sympathy and well-wishes from her followers, as well as several messages about how much they would miss her in the broadcast.
Guthrie is the second major star to pull out of the tree-lighting broadcast after meteorologist Al Roker. Roker usually hosts the lighting himself with help from his co-stars back in the studio, but he has been hospitalized all month with blood clots in his leg and lung. NBC previously announced that Mario Lopez would take over hosting the ceremony with Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Craig Melvin on deck to help out.
It's not clear yet if NBC intends to add in another hand to replace Guthrie or if the team will have to move forward without her as-is. The 50-year-old broadcaster has been absent from work all week, but she was still included on the event page earlier on Wednesday.
As for Roker, he already missed the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade due to health complications, so his absence from the tree lighting is all the more heartbreaking. The 68-year-old weatherman explained on Instagram that it took doctors a while to pinpoint his illness and the ideal treatment for it. This was the first time Roker missed a Thanksgiving parade in the last 27 years.
Roker was released from the hospital last week, but sadly he returned there on Friday. A source close to him told Page Six that Roker was taken out of his home on a stretcher and transported to the hospital. They said that he is still there as of Wednesday and that his family rushed to be by his side. It's unclear why or when fans can expect to see him on TV again.
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