Al Roker Squares off with Spencer & Heidi?
Is contentious Speidi interview just the beginning of Al's troubles?
June 18, 2009— -- There's a feud brewing between Al Roker and Speidi.
It all started with Roker's interview with Heidi and Spencer Pratt on Monday's "Today" show. There to discuss their short-lived appearance on the reality show "I'm a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!," the couple found themselves under attack from Roker.
The couple made tabloid headlines during their "I'm a Celebrity," run afterclashing with producers and co-stars and repeatedly quitting -- then returning -- to the show. There was also a series of bizarre off-set incidents that left some wondering if they were just manufactured publicity stunts.
Roker asked Heidi if she was proud of the couple's behavior on the show. Not satisfied with her reply, Roker cut her off and sternly repeated: "No [the question is], are you proud of this?"
He also lit into Spencer, telling him that people think he acts like a "jerk."
The Pratts did not respond to ABCNews.com's request for comment.
But apparently, the interview was so bruising, Heidi claims she cried afterward. Later on Monday, she told Ryan Seacrest on his radio show, "I was shocked at how rude he was. I was crying afterwards because I felt personally attacked because he was yelling and saying, 'Do you feel proud of this?'"
Spencer held his tongue on the morning interview program but let loose on Seacrest's show. He told Seacrest, it was a good thing he had been "saved by Jesus," otherwise he would have "ripped" Roker's head off.
By Tuesday night, when the couple appeared on "Larry King Live," cooler heads had prevailed.
"My heart was pounding," he told King about his reaction to the interview. "Obviously any male, especially an elderly male, who thinks he can berate my 22-year-old wife on television… it was a very difficult situation."
"We're keeping it moving," he added. "We forgive him. It was early in the morning. Maybe he was upset he had to report some bad weather coming up later this week."
Roker's rep referred ABCNews.com to the "Today" show publicist, who did not respond to a request for comment.
These days, it seems, the weatherman has been weathering his own headlines.
Roker recently snapped photographs of a jury assembly room and posted them to his Twitter account after reporting for jury duty last month – in violation of court rules – and he had to apologize to officials at Manhattan's Criminal Court.
