Richard Gere shocks Today host when he gives her the finger live on TV

There must be something in the air on the set of NBC's Today.

Just yesterday legendary singer Cher dropped an f-bomb, then today, Richard Gere was throwing around some obscene gestures.

The Pretty Woman actor kicked off his interview with journalist Savannah Guthrie by giving her the finger, but he insisted it wasn't personal.

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The segment began with Guthrie giving Gere a rave welcome, gushing about his performance in his upcoming show The Agency.

A clip from the show was then played, before cutting back to Gere and Guthrie in the studio as the Chicago actor threw up his middle finger directly at the host.

"What did you just do," Guthrie exclaimed as she used the stack of papers in her hand to attempt to hide the gesture from the cameras.

"You just did an obscene gesture on this family morning show," she added. "I'm bleeping you.

"You know Cher was on here doing an F-bomb yesterday so I don't know what's happening!"

Gere tried to joke that he "didn't know" he was on camera as he explained the real reason he'd flashed his middle finger.

"That's what I did in the piece," he said. "That's what the clip was."

Guthrie laughed, explaining that she knew that's what his character had done in the clip, but they'd purposely cut the video short.

"I could see that but it didn't make any sense without that," he laughed. "My hand did that, I have no control!"

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Gere stars in new espionage thriller, The Agency, alongside Michael Fassbender, Jeffrey Wright and Katherine Waterston.

The show is based on a French series called The Bureau, which Gere watched with his wife, Alejandra Silva, which made signing on to the American adaptation even more exciting.

It will be the first time the actor has ever appeared in a TV series.

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