When Today host Craig Melvin shared a photo of Savannah Guthrie’s new book on his Instagram account, he was met with a ton of criticism from viewers. Her faith-based book, Mostly What God Does, has been the subject of several Today segments, interviews and social media posts since its February 20 release.
“Out of the office and been off the grid for a few and missed the celebration of faith,” Craig, 44, captioned a photo of the book on his Instagram account on February 23. “Reading the deeply personal book my dear friend @savannahguthrie wrote about God’s abundant and omnipresent love. Proud. Just so proud. Worth a read for sure. Happy it’s sparked so many conversations. Back to reading and doing very little.”
While Savannah’s Today costars have supported her new project, viewers have not shied away from sharing their distaste for the show’s shift in content.
“This caused us to switch to GMA this week. We still get to watch a Roker! I don’t think we’ll be back, Today Show,” one person commented on Craig’s post.
Another person wrote, “@savannahguthrie quit using the show to promote your religious views. We don’t care.”
Others expressed the same disinterest in all of the show’s recent segments that have centered around Mostly What God Does. This included a February 21 roundtable discussion featuring Savannah, 52, Craig, Al Roker, Hoda Kotb and Carson Daly, where they discussed the times in their lives when they leaned on their faith the most.
“Please make it stop!! I’ve had to switch from the Today 700 Club to GMA this week. Wasn’t one day enough? If I was paying to advertise on the Today show, I’d be pissed. Equal time for other religions and atheists?” a person penned in an Instagram comment.
In several other comments, Today watchers said that the show has gone “too far” because there are some people who just tune in “to hear news and weather.”
“Starting to think about switching to ABC. Don’t want to hear about this crap from supposed journalists,” another critical comment said, while another person explained, “I don’t want to stop watching, but I’m feeling incredibly disappointed in the producers and you when you present these stories to millions of viewers, all with different religions on beliefs.”
Over on X, plenty more viewers expressed their frustration in Today’s promotion of Mostly What God Does.
“I'm happy for her. But frankly I'm getting tired of all the religion on the Today Show. God is personal. Enough,” an X user wrote. “Today has been my favorite morning show for 50 years. But I'm starting to watch CBS Morning. If I want church I will go there.”
Savannah did not immediately address criticism of the Today segments surrounding Mostly What God Does. Instead, she has remained hard at work promoting the book on her Instagram account as well as making appearances on a book tour across the U.S. The broadcaster has also earned a lot of love from longtime fans who enjoyed reading her deeply personal book.
“I appreciate you! Let the haters hate, they'll always be there. But this is a time where you can share your perspective & shine!” a supportive February 20 comment on Savannah's Instagram page read.