BBC News briefly turned to BRD News on Wednesday, after one of the network’s “chief prenters” was caught flipping off the camera moments before signing on for her newscast.
In the clip, which has since gone viral on social media, the intro to the long-standing news program cut to the newsdesk, revealing seasoned journalist Maryam Moshiri holding her head cocked and her middle finger up, evidently unaware that she was on live television.
BBC News presenter caught giving the middle finger live on air pic.twitter.com/S4Zs1z1ytY
— Censored Men (@CensoredMen) December 7, 2023
After holding the offensive (and let’s be real, f—king badass) pose for a few seconds, Moshiri seamlessly snapped into anchor mode, offering a proper introduction to the broadcast.
“Live from London, this is BBC News,” she told the camera with the cadence of a British Walter Cronkite.
Yet her polished introduction didn’t ameliorate her bird-flipping, the reporter ultimately issuing an apology as videos of the incident spread throughout Twitter.
“Yesterday just before the top of the hour I was joking around a bit with the team in the gallery,” Moshiri wrote, noting that the bird came as she was jokingly counting down from 10 alongside the director.
Hey everyone , yesterday just before the top of the hour I was joking around a bit with the team in the gallery.
— Maryam Moshiri (@BBCMaryam) December 7, 2023
I was pretending to count down as the director was counting me down from 10-0.. including the fingers to show the number. So from 10 fingers held up to one.
When…
“When we got to 1 I turned finger around as a joke and did not realise that this would be caught on camera,” she continued of the incident, one she dubbed a It “a private joke with the team.”
“I’m so sorry it went out on air! It was not my intention for this to happen and I’m sorry if I offended or upset anyone,” Moshiri concluded. “I wasn’t ‘ flipping the bird’ at viewers or even a person really. It was a silly joke that was meant for a small number of my mates.”
Maryam I have a new header photo for you pic.twitter.com/r9UDaHS2rl
— DeeBeebies (@PrincessMissDee) December 7, 2023
While it’s still to be seen how BBC will respond, one thing is certain — somewhere in the ether, Ron Burgandy is feeling VERY vindicated.
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