‘Today’ Show Star Beefs Up Security After On-Set Scare

Media admin July 18, 2026 0 Comments

‘Today’ Show Star Beefs Up Security After On-Set Scare

Savannah Guthrie has beefed up her security after a racist intruder breached NBC’s studios, marking another distressing moment in a year that began with the kidnapping of her mother.

The Today show host has reportedly hired more security after Andrew Truelove, 41, allegedly slipped past security on Thursday while looking for weatherman Al Roker, 71, before turning his attention to co-anchor Craig Melvin, 47, shouting a racial slur and lunging toward him.

Although Guthrie, 54, was not in the studio when the incident unfolded, insiders told the Daily Mail that it was “incredibly triggering” for the co-anchor, given the disappearance of her mother, Nancy Guthrie, earlier this year.

The 84-year-old mother of the Today show host was violently abducted from her home in Tucson, Arizona, on Feb. 1 and has not been seen since, with her suspected kidnapper still at large.

“The timing couldn’t have been more heartbreaking,” an insider told the Mail, adding, “How much more can one person take?”

Guthrie stepped away from the Today show for two months after her mother disappeared. She returned in an emotional episode in April.

“It’s hard to imagine doing it because it’s such a place of joy and lightness,” she said. “I can’t come back and try to be something that I’m not. But I can’t not come back because it’s my family.”

This week, Guthrie announced she would be taking a leave of absence from Today to film the pilot episode of Wordle, the beloved The New York Times word game coming soon to NBC, which she is set to host.

“Everyone is relieved she’s taking the next few weeks off to film another project,” one source told the Mail. “She’ll get some distance from all of this while everyone back here catches their breath,” they added.

Following the incident on Thursday, Truelove was detained by security before being taken into custody by police. New York cops say he was charged with burglary as a hate crime, menacing as a hate crime, criminal trespass as a hate crime, and harassment.

Truelove is currently being held at Rikers Island on $20,000 bail. His attorney said a judge has issued a protective order requiring Truelove to stay away from both Roker and Melvin.

NBC has also reportedly dismissed a security guard who failed to stop Truelove from entering Studio 1A at the network’s Rockefeller Center headquarters.

“Security has already been beefed up,” one insider told the Mail, saying guests scheduled to appear on the show must now arrive earlier to undergo additional security measures and have their names cleared on the security list before entering. “Nothing is being left to chance,” the insider added.