Mistakes are bound to happen on live TV, and Mikaela Shiffrin made the hosts of Today crack up with a hilarious on-air slip-up.
Shiffrin appeared on the NBC morning show’s Thursday, February 19, episode to talk about winning gold in the women’s slalom event at the 2026 Winter Olympics. The athlete explained that she shared a “spiritual” moment with her late father, who died in 2020, before her medal-winning race.
“To kind of control your energy in those moments and then bring it out in the moment that counts, it can be tough. So, I laid on the ground of our hospitality tent and tried to take a nap,” she explained. “And when I was ‘sleeping,’ I started thinking about my dad. And it was just this moment, like, I want to be able to have some communication with him, and I can’t have that. But I thought, ‘What the heck? Maybe it’s OK if you talk to him, even if you don’t hear him respond in the normal way.’”
Shiffrin said the moment was “more spiritual than how I normally am acting,” as she is usually more “rational” and “logical.” She added, “I think there’s been, definitely, a spiritual journey I’ve been on the last year. I just, I don’t know, I took a moment and I said, ‘F**king…’”
Shiffrin quickly cut herself off after realizing she cursed on live TV. However, she followed up the expletive with more profanity. “S**t! Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” she shouted.
The Today hosts burst into laughter and reassured her she would not get in trouble for the mistake. “We got you! We’ll pay the fine!” Hoda Kotb joked, while Craig Melvin added, We know what you meant. We know what you meant. You’re wearing gold! It’s OK. It’s OK. … She’s just like us.”
At the end of the interview, Kotb quipped, “If it was possible to love you even more than we already did, today’s the day!”
Today‘s official YouTube page bleeped out Shiffrin’s swearing mistake, but many viewers watched the uncensored moment live on Thursday morning. “I wouldnt worry about the fbomb!” one person commented underneath a clip of Shiffrin’s interview on Today‘s Instagram profile. “I nearly said it in court the other day. Was picked for jury duty and then not picked lol! It worked.”
Underneath the YouTube video, someone else wrote, “I watched this live and there was no bleeping! So funny!” A different commenter posted, “Bleeping out what she said for the YouTube video pretty lame.”
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Later in the interview, Shiffrin jokingly blamed her slip of tongue on the espresso martini she had to celebrate her win the day prior. “I also have not been drinking for probably two years now, at least. So, everybody kept handing me espresso martinis because I said that it was, like, my destiny to have one last night,” she shared. “So, everybody kept bringing them to me, which may be some of the reason for the swearing. So sorry again.”
Today, Weekdays, 7a/6c, NBC
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