ACTOR Richard Gere left a TV presenter behind as he turned the bird towards her live.

The star left the presenter gasping when he stuck his middle finger in her face during the awkward conversation.

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Richard, 75, had stopped by US morning talk show The Today Show to discuss his brand new Paramount+ series, The Agency.

When his interview with the show’s host, Samantha Guthrie, got underway, things immediately got off to a bad start when he made the shockingly rude gesture.

Today’s segment started airing the new The Agency trailer, but before Savannah had time to introduce it, Richard stuck his middle finger up at her in full view of the cameras.

Samantha didn’t know how to respond; she stumbled and used her interview notes to wave his hand away from the cameras.

As her eyes widened, the host joked, “You just made an obscene gesture on this family morning show.”

As she climbed, you heard her say, “I’m beeping you.”

In an attempt to explain what had happened, Richard insisted he was recreating a scene his character would have played out next from the trailer if it was not cut off.

The actor said: “You didn’t show up, but I did in the play.

“That was the clip.”

Wanting to clarify amid the excitement of Richard’s accident, Samantha interjected, “That was the clip, but we cut that part out.”

“But then you did it live.”

Richard admitted that he made the gesture because the trailer “made no sense” without it.

The Agency functions a star-studded cast with George Clooney as one of the producers.

In addition to Richard, the show’s credits also include Michael Fassbender, Jeffrey Wright and Jodie Turner-Smith.

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