Justin Sylvester narrowly avoided missing his Today With Jenna and Sheinelle guest hosting opportunity on Monday, March 16.
With Jenna Bush Hager on spring break starting that Monday, Sheinelle Jones welcomed a lineup of celebrity guest hosts. Sylvester, 39, began the week, albeit with a close call.
“It was close. Delta, count your days,” Sylvester quipped. “I was determined to be here.”
Sylvester had just gotten off a red-eye flight earlier that morning, and Jones, 47, mentioned that he was also pulled over on his way to the studio.
Sylvester joked that he showed the Today With Jenna and Sheinelle Instagram account to prove he was indeed a cohost. “I dropped your name so hard,” he remarked to Jones.
As their discussion about his encounter with the police concluded, Sylvester added another humorous twist.
“I gotta be honest, I told them I was Craig Melvin,” Sylvester joked, adding that if there is a “warrant” for Melvin’s arrest, “just know, it wasn’t me.”
Sylvester’s appearance on Today With Jenna and Sheinelle followed just hours after he led E!’s Oscars coverage on Sunday, March 15.
“I still cannot believe I did seven hours of live television over the span of 15 hours and I’m heading to New York,” Sylvester stated in an Instagram Stories video on Sunday, urging followers to watch him on the morning show.
Once Sylvester touched down in New York City, he brushed his teeth in the backseat of his car en route to Studio 1A.
“Life of a showgirl,” Sylvester captioned a clip, set to Taylor Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia.”
An 8:22 a.m. clip showed Sylvester still had one hour left in his travel before reaching 30 Rock — a close call indeed.
“I just gave myself a bird bath in here and my makeup’s still holding up,” he added. “If anyone calls me lazy ever in my life, I’m gonna point to this.”
The following Instagram Story featured a video of Sylvester’s car being stopped by police. “You can’t make this up,” he captioned the footage.
His final update occurred during the last seven minutes of his car ride — 20 minutes before he was due on air.
“I have never in my life,” he said, laughing. “I’m honestly laughing. I, at this point, think it’s hilarious.”
