News flubs that occur live on the air during local or national broadcasts are often pretty strange, and such was the case with this weekend’s airing of the Fox 5 local news in San Diego. On February 13, 2015, a news report accidentally uploaded a photo of President Obama related to a sexual assault case. Catch the huge flub, below.
Just before Valentine’s Day, Fox 5 San Diego was doing an unfortunate report about a rape on the campus of San Diego State University. Reporter Kathleen Bade noted that the only suspect for the case would not be charged. Unfortunately, whoever was taking care of the visual effects during the episode posted a photo of President Obama with a giant red banner underneath noting “no charges.”
Whoops. I’m not sure that Bade even was aware of the over-the-shoulder mistake, as she continued on with her report like a real pro. The rest of the newscast went without incident, as footage showed the actual 20-year-old student who was involved in the sexual assault case on the college campus. Later in the video, you can see that the team apologized on air a few days later about using a photo of the President during a report about a local incident. Bade was thankfully able to avoid having to be the person to apologize; instead anchorwoman Misha DiBono was given the task.
According to the Times of San Diego, the mistake was an accident rather than a flub created by someone working behind the scenes. So, it wasn’t a vindictive live news moment, unlike the reporter in Alaska who quit live on the air last year. Accidental moments are oftentimes the most unintentionally funny, as occurred when these news anchors spotted a giant hulk statue in someone’s backyard. Obviously, accusing President Obama of rape is a much bigger affront, especially as it was more of a “WTF” mistake than a hysterical moment.
Regardless, it’s only a wee bit more offensive than Fox national news anchorwoman Megyn Kelly accidentally calling Mike Huckabee “Mike Fuckabee” live on the air. And it’s certainly not weirder than that British reporter who accidentally inhaled drugs while attempting his report. I guess what we are trying to say is, even when things look pretty bad for the local news, it could always get worse. You stay classy, San Diego.
