Maryam Moshiri’ On-Air Oops: BBC News Presenter Apologizes for Camera Middle Finger Incident
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BBC News
Maryam Moshiri, a BBC News presenter, issued an apology for gesturing with her middle finger during a live television broadcast on Wednesday. The chief presenter of the British network explained that she was playfully interacting with her team when she made the gesture just as the broadcast began. Numerous individuals shared a video of the incident on social media, with one particular clip garnering over 700,000 views. The footage captures Moshiri seated at the anchor desk during the countdown to the broadcast. After swiftly making the gesture, she proceeds to deliver the first headline concerning former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
BBC News presenter Maryam Moshiri apologizes after giving camera middle finger on air:
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) December 7, 2023
“It was a private joke with the team and 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.” pic.twitter.com/N87QjmLsGi
In a post-Thursday interview on X, Moshiri disclosed that she engaged in a playful countdown charade while the director counted down from ten. Holding up ten fingers, she proceeded to count them down, playfully flipping her middle finger when the countdown reached one, all as part of a jest she was unaware would be captured on camera. She explained, “It was a private joke with the team, and I’m sincerely sorry that it aired! It was not my intention to offend or upset anyone, and I apologize for any offense caused.” Moshiri, a mother of three, attained the position of one of the channel’s principal presenters in February during the BBC’s consolidation of its two news channels. Her apology post on X garnered 2.1 million views and nearly 3,000 responses within a few hours, with many expressing understanding that it was all intended as a joke.
BBC News Presenter Maryam Moshiri Apologizes For Flipping The Middle Finger Live On BBC News
In a video that has now gone viral, a British television anchor found herself inadvertently making a spontaneous gesture by extending her middle finger directly into the live camera, clearly caught off guard before presenting the news. While preparing to deliver the midday news on Wednesday, Maryam Moshiri, a prominent BBC host and one of the network’s “chief presenters,” openly displayed her raised middle finger for viewers. As the familiar BBC countdown approached zero, the scene transitioned to Moshiri with her head tilted, wide-eyed, sporting a broad smirk, and making the unmistakable gesture. Moshiri quickly realized the situation in a matter of seconds, promptly composing herself before commencing with her introduction: “Live from London, this is BBC News.” She then proceeded to report the headline from the weekly segment on “Prime Minister’s Questions,” focusing on “former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologizing for the suffering and loss experienced by people in the UK during the coronavirus pandemic.” According to Moshiri, in a statement on Thursday, the gesture was merely part of a playful interaction with the crew behind the camera and was not intended to harm anyone.
“I pretended to count down as the director counted me down from 10-0, using my fingers to show the number.” “From ten fingers held up to one,” she said in a message to X. “While we were at 1, I whipped my finger around as a joke and didn’t realize it was being captured on camera.” “I’m so sorry it made it on air!” Moshiri apologised for the event. This was not my aim, and I apologise if I insulted or angered anyone. I wasn’t ‘flicking the bird’ to the audience or anyone in particular.” The unintentionally caught-on-camera incident did not go ignored, with hundreds of social media users mocking Moshiri’s misfortune. “Looks like somebody had to get it to work without a cup of coffee,” one user said of X. “Whenever I hear anyone from BBC, I have the same expression,” said another. “I’ll cut her a little slack and believe she was flipping off the cameraman,” read a third comment. Several individuals even took the effort to “meme” Moshiri by posting screengrabs of her and her now-famous finger with jokes and puns.
