Chaos erupted behind the scenes at NBC’s Today show Thursday morning when an intruder allegedly slipped past security, stormed into a restricted area and lunged at co-anchor Craig Melvin while shouting a racial slur.
The unidentified man entered 30 Rockefeller Center from the show’s publicly accessible plaza shortly after 9 a.m., apparently trailing Melvin into the building, according to TMZ, which first reported the frightening encounter.
Once inside, the man reportedly entered a stairwell and made his way backstage near the dressing rooms while asking for longtime meteorologist Al Roker.
When he failed to find Roker, the unarmed intruder allegedly turned his attention to Melvin, lunging at the anchor while yelling the N-word.
Staffers and security personnel rushed to Melvin’s aid and detained the man until police arrived. No one was injured.
The New York Police Department confirmed officers were called to 30 Rockefeller Center at approximately 9:19 a.m. following a report of a “disorderly person” inside the building.
“Officers responded and placed an unidentified individual into custody,” the NYPD said in a statement obtained by People. “There were no injuries reported. The investigation remains ongoing.”
The man had not been publicly identified as of Thursday afternoon, and authorities had not announced what charges he could face.
The confrontation was not captured during the live broadcast. Despite the backstage mayhem, Melvin and Roker returned to the air roughly 15 minutes later and gave viewers no indication of what had just unfolded.
Behind the cameras, however, the brazen breach reportedly left staffers rattled—and demanding to know how an unauthorized man managed to follow one of the program’s biggest stars from the plaza into a secured section of the building without being stopped.
TMZ cameras later captured a heavy police presence outside the Manhattan television landmark.
“Heads are going to roll because this security breach put the talent of the show at risk,” TMZ founder Harvey Levin said, citing people inside the Today show.
NBC representatives had not publicly addressed the incident as of early Thursday afternoon.
The security scare exposed a glaring vulnerability at one of the country’s most recognizable television studios. The Today show regularly broadcasts from street-level Studio 1A, where hosts mingle with crowds gathered behind barricades in Rockefeller Plaza.
But Thursday’s intruder allegedly managed to cross the line from the public-facing plaza into the private corridors of NBC’s headquarters—getting dangerously close to Melvin before anyone stopped him.
The investigation remains active.
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