Al Roker’s duties as co-host of Today were interrupted by duties of a different kind on Monday.
After Roker, 72, mysteriously disappeared from the broadcast after the weather forecast, he revealed why he had to leave mid-show in an Instagram post. Co-host Dylan Dreyer, 45, filled in after Savannah Guthrie announced that Roker “had to leave a little bit early.”
In a video filmed outside a courthouse, Roker told fans his morning shift was cut short so he could serve as a juror.
“Well, got out of the Today show early because I have jury duty,” Roker said in the video set to Shorty Long’s “Here Comes The Judge.” He added with a grin, “It’s everybody’s civic duty to do your duty.”
Roker has co-hosted the third hour of Today alongside Craig Melvin and Dylan Dreyer since 2019. He’s taken several notable hiatuses from the show since he began as co-host in 1996, including his 2022 medical leave to address life-threatening blood clots, and a 2020 leave to undergo a prostatectomy.
In 2005, he left the show to have gastric bypass surgery, after which he lost over 100 pounds.
