The Today Show recently celebrated its 70th anniversary, and shared throwback footage to commemorate seven decades of news coverage. Some of the clips shown on-air included videos of beloved figures like weatherman Al Roker.
The presenter, 68, was seen in some pre-2002 footage in the compilation, before he underwent gastric bypass surgery 21 years ago. After this turning point, Roker notably lost more than 100 pounds.
READ MORE: Al Roker’s Co-Hosts Welcome Him Back To ‘Today’: ‘We’re So Happy To Have You Back!’
Al Roker looks TOTALLY different from his current self in flashback footage https://t.co/BAnlEGpGn3
— Daily Mail Celebrity (@DailyMailCeleb) April 6, 2023
The ‘Today Show’ Airs Throwback Footage Of Al Roker, Emphasizing His Major Weight Loss
As fans are pointing out online, he is much slimmer in 2023. After the Today celebration and throwback videos aired, one fan wrote on Twitter, “I never realized how much weight Al Roker lost.” Another added, “wow he looks so different!”
‘Today’ Show Host Al Roker’s Weight-Loss Journey in His Own Words https://t.co/8b78yMTSW0 pic.twitter.com/34IEef4yM7
— Good Housekeeping (@goodhousemag) November 22, 2018
Last year, Roker celebrated the twentieth anniversary of his weight loss and surgery in an Instagram post for his 917K followers. Along with a photo of himself holding up a pair of jeans he wore pre-surgery, he captioned his upload, “Hard to believe it was 20 years ago today, I wore these size 54 Levi jeans to my #gastricbypass at 340 lbs and here I am today.” Roker added, “It’s still a struggle but I’m never going back. I have setbacks and struggle every day, but I never forget how far I’ve come.”
READ MORE: Al Roker Tells ‘Today’ Fans About His Exciting ‘New Adventure’—Congrats!
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In a previous interview with People Magazine, the reporter expressed how hurt he was after becoming known/ rising to fame on Today as the “funny fat guy.” He told the outlet, “I had a person say to me in the gym, ‘Hey, you don’t want to lose too much weight, ’cause that’s who you are — you’re the funny, fat weather guy!'”
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Roker continued, recalling life before surgery, “No, that’s not who I am. I think I’m funny. I know I’m fat. But I don’t think I’m funny because I’m fat. The two are mutually exclusive.” To us and his many fans, Roker is just as funny, witty and charismatic on-screen today, proving his point!
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