Craig Melvin's Mom Calls Him Out on TV, Asks Bobby Flay to Have Her Son Help Cook on Thanksgiving
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Craig Melvin's mom just called him out on the job.
On Wednesday, Today shared a hilarious clip in which the morning show co-anchor got a surprise from his mom, who submitted a video clip asking guest of the day, Bobby Flay, to urge Melvin to help out on Thanksgiving.
The video starts with 3rd Hour of Today co-host Sheinelle Jones saying they have one more viewer question, joking that the person shares the same name as his mom, Betty Jo. "My mom's name?" Melvin questioned, adding "Oh Jesus" when he saw his mother appear on the screen.
"Bobby, how do you get your kid to help you on Thanksgiving day when all he wants to do is watch football?" Melvin's mom quipped.
When Flay asked Melvin if she was really his mom, he joked, "She used to be. Now she's been disowned."
The broadcast journalist tried to refute his mom's claims. "For the record, I help occasionally, sometimes," to which Flay responded "No, no, no, obviously she's calling you out."
Flay then answered Betty Jo's question. "First of all, you're the mom, so you are in charge. You get to tell your son what to do no matter what — Thanksgiving or the other 364 days a year," he said. "But, if he wants to watch football, I totally get it. So like get a little small TV for the kitchen. That's what I do."
Flay added: "You got to have football on Thanksgiving," to which Craig emphatically exclaimed "Yes!" The Food Network star made sure to still support Melvin's mom by adding another thought, "But also, you got to get in the kitchen."
"Thank you Bobby. Thank you mom," Melvin said. "That was great."
When it comes to holiday prep, Flay is very hands on in the kitchen, while his girlfriend, Christina Pérez, handles the decor.
During a tour of the new Food Network test kitchen in New York City earlier this month, the celebrity chef and restaurateur told Entertainment Tonight that Pérez is "really into making sure that the tablescape is gorgeous and that the house looks festive and beautiful."
RELATED: 'Today' Co-Host Craig Melvin Gets His Ear Pierced with Daughter Sybil for Her 5th Birthday
Flay, 57, and Pérez, 41, a writer who has been published in Condé Nast Traveler, GQ, and more, were first introduced to each other through mutual friends. They went public with their relationship in November 2021 after the chef's horse, Pizza Bianca, won the Juvenile Fillies Turf at the Breeders' Cup.
RELATED: Bobby Flay Says Girlfriend Christina Pérez Makes 'Everything Look Amazing' at Their Joint Holidays
Now, entertaining is a team effort for the pair. "It's a 50-50 job for sure," he told ET. "I take care of the food and Christina takes care of making everything look amazing,"
Pérez is Flay's shoulder to lean on during the holiday season — and beyond. "My life is so crazy hectic, and she's always the light at the end of the day for me," Flay told PEOPLE in December 2021.
