Today host Craig Melvin left guest Parker Posey stunned when she appeared to mishear his pronunciation of the word “horror.”
The 47-year-old presenter welcomed the White Lotus star onto Monday morning’s live broadcast to discuss her latest projects and plans for the next stage of her career.
“Before I let you get out of here, we gotta talk horror,” Melvin said.
Posey, 57, suddenly looked perplexed and covered her mouth before leaning over to quietly say something to the television host.
Melvin quickly realized how his comment had sounded.
“No, hor-ror!” he clarified, carefully emphasizing each part of the word.
“I thought you called me a wh**e,” the actress replied.
Trying to clear up the misunderstanding, Melvin said: “I did not call you a wh**e! H-O-R-R-O-R. Horror. I did not enunciate well.”
Craig Melvin left Parker Posey speechless after she appeared to mishear his pronunciation of the word “horror”
The pair laughed off the mix-up before continuing their conversation, although the interview soon became awkward again.
“Tell us about your new horror film,” Melvin asked, referring to the movie Sleepover.
Posey, who has previously appeared in films including Scream 3 and Blade, responded bluntly: “I’m not doing it…”
“No. I’m not doing it anymore… Now I’m sweating. I was. It’s not happening anymore. Something came up.”
She offered no further explanation, while Melvin appeared to squirm and shift in his seat after the string of awkward exchanges.
“Okay, well, now it’s even more awkward than usual,” he admitted.
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The interview ended on a lighter note when Posey referred to Melvin’s recent win in People’s Sexiest Man Alive Readers’ Choice Poll 2026. He took the top spot in the “Hotter Than Your Morning Cup of Coffee” category.
“Hey, you’re the sexiest man alive! Hotter than a cup of coffee, Craig!” Posey said as she wrapped up the segment.
Posey, 57, looked confused and covered her mouth before quietly speaking to the television host
The uncomfortable exchange came just days after Melvin’s colleague Al Roker faced criticism over a controversial nickname for fellow host Jenna Bush Hager.
The 72-year-old sparked a reaction among his co-workers after making what appeared to be an awkward comment about Hager’s outfit.
During Thursday’s episode of Today with Jenna & Sheinelle, Hager, 44, recalled: “Earlier this week when I was wearing red and I walked onto the set and Al goes, ‘Hey, Big Red!’”
Jones, 48, laughed and recreated the female hosts’ reactions in slow motion as she described the moment.
She continued: “And all the girls were like, ‘No, no! Don’t say that!’”
The awkward moment followed a recent incident involving Al Roker and his controversial nickname for Jenna Bush Hager
Roker caused a stir among his colleagues after commenting on Hager’s red outfit
The hosts said Roker initially failed to understand why his comment had caused such a reaction, until his female colleagues explained the problem.
“Savannah [Guthrie] was like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe you said that,’” Jones recalled.
“And Al leans over to me, and he’s like, ‘What did I do?’”
Jones quickly explained to the veteran broadcaster: “You can’t say anything that takes up space.”
“You can’t call somebody, a woman ‘big!’” Hager added.
