Literally anything can happen on live TV . Sure, moderators and crew members try to keep offensive stuff from airing, but that doesn’t mean every live broadcast doesn’t carry the risk of something truly bizarre going down.
These live TV moments really happened . Some are hilarious, others just awkward. But at the end of the day, they prove why live broadcasts are oftentimes worth catching.
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Nhalnhla Nene falls off his chair.
During a 2008 live broadcast, the South African chairman fell off his chair, while in the middle of speaking. Amazingly, the anchor interviewing him didn’t even crack a smile at what just happened in front of her.
Steve Jacobs gets attacked by a pelican.
The Australian weatherman was in the middle of giving the daily forecast (while in a zoo) when a pelican decided to chomp on him for a little while. I guess you could say that broadcasting live from a zoo really came back to bite him.
A Fox 5 reporter got startled by a really big bug.
To be fair, that bug’s size was kind of absurd. The “was that live? Are we live? Oh brother,” is what really made this video though.
Ashlee Simpson’s infamous ‘SNL’ performance.
During a 2004 episode of Saturday Night Live , Simpson was set to perform “Pieces of Me,” but ended up being outed for lip synching instead. She then awkwardly did a little jig before walking off stage, while her band just kept on playing.
Sam Ruben mixed up Samuel L. Jackson and Laurence Fishburne on air.
Jackson immediately laid it on when Ruben mentioned a Super Bowl commercial, thinking he’d mistaken Jackson for Fishburne. But Ruben later clarified he’d actually meant a Captain America ad which had also aired that night.
Robert Kelly’s children (and wife) made a surprise appearance during an interview.
During an interview with the BBC, Professor Kelly’s children unexpectedly walked in, followed by his wife who tried very hard to usher them out quickly. It might have happened back in 2017, but it’s still a classic on-air blooper.
Mike Seidel may or may not have faked a hurricane’s impact.
You can see Seidel struggling to keep his footing on a patch of grass during coverage of Hurricane Florence in 2018, when a couple of teens walk by behind him with ease.
The network later said he was apparently struggling because he was on different terrain and was exhausted at that point, but it’s hard to say for sure.
The BBC introduces the wrong guest.
Two BBC Breakfast hosts give a 30-second intro for Leslie Binns, only for the camera to pan out and show Todd Langman. On the plus side, Langman was pretty entertained by the whole thing.
That time Kelly Osbourne asked who’s going to clean Donald Trump’s toilets.
In a moment that has gone down in infamy for Osbourne, as the panel of The View discuss the then-president’s racial remarks on immigrants from Latin America, she asks, “If you kick ever Latino out of this country, then who is going to be cleaning your toilet?” Cue the instant backpedaling.
Rob Leth flips out during a sledding race.
The Canadian news reporter was doing a segment during the winter of 2012, only to get knocked over by one of the passing sled riders. To his credit, he signs out with grace.
Ivan Šuker has a chair malfunction.
The former minister of finance in Croatia was in the middle of talking when his chair suddenly lowered. But he handled it like a pro, and kept talking as if nothing happened.
News reporter versus chicken.
While holding a large, black chicken, the Aussie reporter is calmly delivering the news when the rooster suddenly jumps up. The frightened yells from the reporter as he hightails it out of there are absolutely priceless.
An anchor and reporter have a verbal match on air.
Jim Ryan and Dick Oliver get in a heated exchange when Oliver ends an interview early, and Ryan accuses him of being a bad reporter. And it gets… pretty mean.
An NFL man gets a high five to the face.
Reporter Ian Rapoport turns around to high five various fans in the crowd behind him, but accidentally gets one in the face, instead. The way the camera focuses on the poor dude is honestly too good.
Ryan Seacrest’s awkward high five with a contestant on ‘American Idol.’
The contestant, who is visually impaired, had just been told he was moving past the audition round. Seacrest went to give him a congratulatory high five, but awkwardly had to bring his hand up, instead.
A woman seemingly farts, and then passes out.
To be honest, everything that happened here was utterly confusing. Sanja Nikolic was reading off a computer screen, when a sound like air coming out of a balloon suddenly occurs. Then she straight up passes out, taking the set with her. The anchors in front of her seem weirdly unfazed.
Natasha Exelby’s pen was almost too interesting.
The journalist was caught spacing out, staring at a pen, before realizing that live cameras were on her. Apparently, she got “relieved from her on air role,” even though her recovery was pretty solid.
More fighting news anchors.
Nicole Brewer and Carol Erikson exchange some pretty passive-aggressive blows to one another over the course of several news segments back in 2013. Not quite an all-out fight, but still enough to make you want to keep tabs on the channel, just in case.
Doug Ford swallows a bee.
Earlier this year, the premier of Ontario, Canada swallowed a bee during a live press conference. Laughter ensues. Seriously, everyone thought that moment was funny (except the bee, I’m sure).
Pete Hegseth throws an ax and hits a drummer.
The reporter was demonstrating an ax throw… for some reason… when it ended up hitting a marching band drummer who happened to be behind the target. Luckily, no one got seriously injured.
