‘Today Show’ Host Savannah Guthrie Calls Cheesecake a Pie, Tearing the Internet Apart Before Thanksgiving

The TODAY Show‘s Savannah Guthrie has found herself at the center of a social media controversy.

During Wednesday’s broadcast of the NBC morning show, Guthrie caused jaws to drop when she was asked to name what she thinks is the best type of pie during a segment about the country’s favorite Thanksgiving pies. The anchor, forgoing the traditional pumpkin pie, exclaimed that cheesecake was her favorite.

“This one? Cheesecake,” co-anchor Craig Melvin said as he gestured to Guthrie. “Not a pie. Cake is in the title! It’s called cheesecake!”

Guthrie’s response proved to be a controversial take among viewers, who were quick to sound off on social media.

“This is really crazy, Savannah,” actress and comedian Mindy Kaling tweeted in response to the fiasco.

Dictionary.com even had a thing or two to say about Guthrie’s favorite “pie,” providing her with the definition of cheesecake.

“A cake having a firm custardlike texture, made with cream cheese, cottage cheese, or both, and sometimes topped with a jamlike fruit mixture,” the definition reads.

During the Wednesday segment, Guthrie put her Georgetown University law degree to use by explaining the details behind her hot take assumption that cheesecake is a pie.

“It’s round like a pie,” she said. “You slice it like a pie. It has filling like a pie. It has a crust. I think it has far more in common with pie than (cake). I think I’ve made an argument here.”

She later took to Twitter to continue her argument, writing “All I ask – be open minded. Don’t be fooled just because it has “cake” in its name. When push comes to shove, cheesecake has far more in common with pie than cake.”

Her reasoning seemed to have one over one or two people, who replied with their support.

“[Savannah Guthrie] it is round, has a crust, no flour, no icing…it is in the pie category,” one person wrote.

Several others were quick to support the co-anchor’s claims by pointing to other items that contain a word in their name that they have no relation to.

“Seahorse has the word horse in its title and it is most definitely not an Equine. I totally agree that cheese cake has more properties of pie than cake,” another user wrote.

“Consider this argument: Italians have a delectable dessert called Ricotta Pie. It is made of cheese, eggs and sugar, just like cheese cake,” a Twitter user brought up.. “I’m going with [Savannah Guthrie] on this one. Cheesecake is #pie Opens a New Window.”

Regardless of whether Guthrie was right or wrong, or where you stand in the fiasco, she received some support from producers, who gave her the go-ahead to make her controversial pick.

Photo credit: NBC