Derick Almena On ‘Today’ Show – Watch Almena Rage At Matt Lauer And Tamron Hall In Full Interview [Video]


Derick Almena had a pretty contentious interview with Matt Lauer and Tamron Hall on Today on Tuesday, December 6. The below interview with Lauer, Hall and Almena is going viral. Watch that full live interview with Almena below, which is getting a big response on social media. Whereas the comments section shows some people calling Lauer and Hall’s interview with Derick a “witch hunt” — others think it only fair that Almena answers questions about the tragic Ghost Ship warehouse fire.

As reported by Today, Almena leased the Ghost Ship warehouse in Oakland, California — Derick didn’t own the building. However, with a tragic fire claiming the lives of at least 36 people, there will be a series of questions that investigators will ask, with charges likely to be filed, reports the publication.

Tamron discussed how some women slept with a fire extinguisher as makeshift safety precautions. Because Alena leases and doesn’t own the building, it isn’t clear how much the Oakland warehouse manager may or may not be held culpable in any deaths from the fire.

Derick grew more emotional in the interview with Lauer, as Almena appeared to be anguished on Today.

Almena spoke of putting his own children to sleep in the Ghost Ship warehouse as a means of defense on the Today show, with Lauer showing previous footage of an interview with Almena and Micah Allison, Derick’s partner. According to Today, Derick has received some backlash because Almena and his family checked into a hotel the night of the tragic fire.

Almena defended that move by saying that Derick knew there would be a party that evening and that Derick simply wanted to get his children and family away from the party scene — not because he knew there would be a tragic fire that night.

As seen in the above photo from KGO-TV, a TV channel in San Francisco, Derick “Ion” Almena and Micah were at the Marriott Hotel in Oakland.

almena
[Image by Glendale Police Department/AP Images]

Allison expressed her grief in the Today show interview as well, and wanted to stop the Today show interview at certain points, reported Lauer.

Almena spoke of grieving the artists who died.

“They’re my children. They’re my friends, they’re my family, they’re my loves, they’re my future. What else do I have to say?”

Derick seemed to grow more upset when Lauer asked about the controversy that Almena may have profited off of those renting the artist space from him.

Meanwhile, the jury is mixed in the reactions to Almena’s Today show interview.

As seen in the below comments being posted online on the Today show Facebook page or the Today show’s Twitter page, some folks are defending Matt and Tamron’s line of questioning towards Almena. Others are claiming that Lauer and Hall were unfair to Derick, calling him a guy who is also hurting.

Andrew Bernal: “The guy agreed to be interviewed. No one was holding a gun to his head to do it. He’s liable and wanted to come off as innocent to the public, but he’ll likely be charged and knew what he said in that interview could be used against him. He shouldn’t have agreed to it if he didn’t want to be seriously questioned.”

Maureen ‘Renie’ Gibbons: “Gee Matt…can you be anymore of an a**? You are becoming worse by the day. You are not the police or prosecutor, so don’t justice [sic] your questions on what you ‘think’ will be asked of him.”

, , — And you wonder why people hate the media.”

According to the Daily Mail, Almena was called a heavy drug user by his own father-in-law.

Ghost Ship
[Image by KGO-TV/AP Images]

[Featured Image by KGO-TV/AP Images]

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