NEW YORK — The “Today” show is upping its on-set security after an intruder accosted co-host Craig Melvin in a vestibule, hurling a racial slur and landing himself in jail facing hate crime charges, according to a new report.
“We wanted to reach out with an important update regarding studio access for ‘Today’ interviews,” reads an excerpt from an email show staff sent to Hollywood PR firms, first published by Variety. “In light of the recent events last week, we are implementing stricter security protocols effective immediately.”
The primary change is that guests can now be accompanied by only two people — whether they be stylists, spokespersons, social media aides or other “support personnel,” according to the report.
“We’ll defer to you on who those two individuals should be, but there will be no exceptions or additional personnel permitted in the studio during the interview,” the message continued. Additional staffers would be asked to remain in the green room, outside of the studio.
The report comes a week after Andrew Truelove, a 41-year-old Virginia native, allegedly snuck in behind someone going through a security gate leading into a restricted area of the NBC studio at Rockefeller Center. He was allegedly hunting for Al Roker and found Melvin instead — then allegedly screamed a racial slur at him just before 9 a.m., according to city police.
No one was physically hurt, the show said in a statement, but the security lapse reportedly cost one guard his job.
“NBC and ‘Today’ take the safety and security of our employees, talent, staff and guests extremely seriously,” the show’s statement continued. “We are reviewing the incident and our security protocols and remain committed to providing a safe and secure environment for everyone who works at and visits our studios.”
“Today” show clips from that morning show Truelove loitered outside the ground-floor studio’s window for at least a half-hour, appearing in multiple shots between 8:03 .m. and 8:34, when actress Anne Hathaway was on set to discuss her role in the latest adaption of “The Odyssey.”
The incident comes just six months after another “Today” co-host’s mother was the victim in a home invasion abduction from her house in Tucson. Savannah Guthrie’s mother Nancy remains unaccounted for, and no suspects have been publicly identified.
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Truelove, the man accused of hate crime burglary and menacing in the Melvin attack, had felony convictions in his home state and more than a dozen pending charges in New York before the incident. He is currently being held at a New York City jail on $10,000 bail.
Truelove pleaded not guilty at his arraignment last week and his lawyers waived an appearance at a follow-up hearing Wednesday. He’s due back in court on Aug. 5.
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In October 2007, Truelove was accused of trying to abduct an 8-year-old from a school in Norfolk, Virginia. He was convicted at trial and sentenced to 10 years in prison, of which six were suspended, followed by 10 years on probation, court records show.
A psychiatrist testified he had symptoms of bipolar disorder and had stopped taking medications before the incident because they made him gain weight, according to The Virginian-Pilot.
Other charges in Virginia included trespassing, making bomb threats, destruction of property and repeated probation violations.
In 2014, he was arrested on charges of stealing signs from memorials dedicated to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims.
And in 2023, after getting off of probation, he left Virginia for Southern California, where he was profiled in the Los Angeles Times in a lengthy story on his battle with homelessness.