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Extreme weather hit the United States as Hurricane Ida barreled across cities like New Orleans, Louisiana leaving many without power and rescue teams scrambling to get people safely out of their homes.
NBC's weatherman Al Roker took to the streets as he always has, standing in gushing waves off the New Orleans coast with strong winds blowing his windbreaker.
It turns out, Roker has been paying attention to his Twitter mentions lately. Many people commented it might be too dangerous for him to be out there citing his age—67.
Al Roker is almost 70 years old, why is this necessary https://t.co/mXw6VaQXzp— philip lewis (@philip lewis) 1630249074.0
@MeetThePress @alroker Why is this still a thing? Is anything helped by sticking near-elderly weathermen out into a… https://t.co/cPoVrkOSte— boredsuburbanmom (@boredsuburbanmom) 1630249471.0
@MeetThePress @alroker There's absolutely no reason why he had to stand that close amd get crushed by waves. Looks… https://t.co/f3Bqf07Ouz— jay (@jay) 1630251542.0
Al roker is 67 lmao nbc doing him dirty https://t.co/XAnO939Pjc— jw (@jw) 1630245593.0
Afghanistan is complicated, tragic, and divisive. So let’s welcome the opportunity to unanimously condemn NBC for e… https://t.co/dog7keySWp— Larry Sabato (@Larry Sabato) 1630250207.0
Why y'all send Al Roker old ass to the middle of that hurricane? My momma called me about it and everything— America Is Musty (@America Is Musty) 1630277731.0
@DragonflyJonez Man went in the middle of a Hurricane just to tell us it was bad, like it’s not a Hurricane https://t.co/pU1jOflZZ5— Attachment: 1 Video (@Attachment: 1 Video) 1630277887.0
But Roker was ready to come for anyone saying he was too old to be out reporting on the storm.
@TeflonTom Try it, punk. I will drop you like a bag of dirt— Al Roker (@Al Roker) 1371175569.0
In a clip from The Sunday Show, Jonathan Capehart spoke to Roker who decided he needed to address the Twitter mob.
"Folks on Twitter were, 'first of all, why is NBC putting him out there?' I volunteered to come out here. This is what I do."
"I've done this for 40 years …"
"We all make sure we're safe. We're not going to do something that puts ourselves in harm's way."
He then called out the people saying he's "too old" to be reporting from in the field.
To those people he said:
"Well, hey, guess what? Screw you, okay?"
"Try to keep up. Keep up, okay?"
"These young punks. I will come after them. I will drop them like a bag of dirt."
.@alroker has a message for those who think he’s too old to stand outside in a hurricane! #SundayShow https://t.co/v2RD6xA7ku— The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart (@The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart) 1630252609.0
People are eating it up.
@TheSundayShow @alroker .@alroker should get extra pay for this ..— samuel crenshaw (@samuel crenshaw) 1630255227.0
@TheSundayShow @alroker Thank you for standing up for the 65+ generation. Now get inside, OK?— THEE Notorious R.A.V. (@THEE Notorious R.A.V.) 1630254886.0
@TheSundayShow @alroker Isn't it grand when your knowledge reputation and body of work allows you the freedom to tell all trolls to KMA.— Ken Garrett (@Ken Garrett) 1630254804.0
@TheSundayShow @alroker @alroker is a rare and special breed of journalists who can and will do what he needs to do… https://t.co/uSCVOH2uF1— Canadianmouse (@Canadianmouse) 1630254039.0
Not everyone felt the same though.
The criticism was less about his age and more about the danger he put himself in when the city was evacuating.
@TheSundayShow @alroker it's not the age, it's the irresponsibility of telling people they needed to evacuate and t… https://t.co/3IXmIrk5QN— boredsuburbanmom (@boredsuburbanmom) 1630254948.0
@TheSundayShow @alroker "We're not going to do something that will put ourselves in harms way"...stands in the midd… https://t.co/tgD1Yungc4— Linda Castro (@Linda Castro) 1630257359.0
@TheSundayShow @alroker Cool. Still unnecessary. I would feel the same way if he was 27. We have eyes. The sideways… https://t.co/qtA1o9kdCT— SBINAWYL (@SBINAWYL) 1630253960.0
Roker did give an update tweet with a video of his boots being emptied of water into the hotel bathroom tub.
For all those who were worried about me out on #lakepontchartrain covering #Ida a) I volunteered to do this. Part o… https://t.co/6wbOOQMHEG— Al Roker (@Al Roker) 1630249303.0
He shared he and his crew were safe and sound in their hotel and he certainly is not too old.