Matt Lauer and Al Roker both went to the doctor this morning — during the “Today” show — getting live prostate exams as part of NBC’s men’s health initiative, “No Shave November.” Oh, did we mention it’s also sweeps?
Dr. David Samadi—Lauer’s personal urologist—gave the “Today” men closed door exams, which chief medical editor, Dr. Nancy Snyderman, dubbed a “digital rectal exam.”
“It doesn’t hurt at all, and it took 34 seconds,” Lauer said upon coming out of his exam. “Is it the best 34 seconds of your life?…probably not, but if in 34 seconds, a guy like this can detect something that might save your life, what are we talking about?”
The doctor came armed with jokes too, shooting back: “Well what he doesn’t know is I had to lose five pounds in order to make my finger looser,” which generated both stunned looks and giggles from the show’s female hosts back on set, and probably millions of cringes around America.
This isn’t the first time the show’s hosts have undergone on-air exams; back in March of 2000, former anchor Katie Couric underwent an on-air colonoscopy. Couric’s husband Jay Monhan had died of colon cancer in 1998. Couric’s exam caused a 20% spike in nationwide screenings, which researchers at University of Michigan coined “The Katie Couric Effect.”
WATCH: