The 2024 Paris Olympics are officially underway, and NBC has selected an unusual array of co-hosts including rapper/entertainer Snoop Dogg, designed to boost the entertainment value of its programming despite the Olympics themselves being high-value entertainment.
The games started earlier in the week, but because the Olympics always suffer from an inability to fully comprehend the idea of chronology, the Opening Ceremony is today. For the first time ever, nations are being introduced down the river, floating in by boat on the Seine. NBC has its usual go-to announcers for much of its coverage — including Mike Tirico as the host — but also added Peyton Manning, Kelly Clarkson, and Snoop Dogg to its on-location studio. This is already resulting in some rather awkward moments, like one shared between Snoop and Simone Biles‘ parents, Ronald and Nellie.
While being interviewed by Snoop and Hoda Kotb, Mr. and Mrs. Biles were asked by Snoop, “Is Simone happy that you’re here?” A head-scratcher, to be sure, and viewers were likely half-expecting a sarcastic response, but Biles’ mother stuck with simply saying, “Yes, she is.”
Then, to Snoop’s surprise, Kotb reminded him that he had met Simone before she was ever an Olympian. Clearly having been previously told the story by Biles’ parents, Kotb was happy to hear it retold on-air, which is when Mrs. Biles explained that she and Simone met Snoop back in 2010 in New York City’s Times Square.
Snoop had no idea, and likely has no recollection of it, but as Mrs. Biles explained, they had asked him if they could have two minutes of his time to take a photo with him, to which he quickly responded, “Ok. One. Two,” and fled. Yikes.
Hearing of his playful exit after two seconds back in 2010 had Snoop laughing live during the NBC broadcast, a response that Mrs. Biles didn’t seem to mind. What a photo that would’ve been, though, seeing Snoop and Simone Biles in a picture together from 2010 when Simone was just 13 years old. Too bad Snoop wasn’t in a photo-taking mood, something he may never live down now that the story has resurfaced in front of a global Olympic audience.
