MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell has had his Bill O’Reilly moment. If you didn’t know the context of the situation, the progressive host would look like Uncle Leo from “Seinfeld,” demanding someone to “answer that damn phone!” He was indeed similar to a crazy old man screaming at the clouds about kids these days and how they don’t respect their elders.
A new video of O’Donnell berating his staff was leaked on Thursday. The hilarious eight-minute clip features the top-rated network anchor shrieking about hammering in the background, a “Labor Day rundown” and a “control room that is out of control.”
The veteran cable news host griped at one point, “You have insanity in my earpiece.” By the end of the video, O’Donnell begins to shout various profanities.
If O’Donnell Had a Hammer
At one point in the vulgar rant, O’Donnell complains about a repeated hammering sound. He attempted to identify where the sound was coming from, but he could not find out.
He asked:
“Who has a hammer? Stop the hammering!
“It f---ing sucks to be out here with this out-of-control sh--!
“I don’t care who the f--- you have to call, stop the hammering!”
O’Donnell went as far as demanding that his production staff leave the control room and search for the hammering. The TV host was informed that the hammering had likely originated from a different floor, which prompted the progressive to request that someone venture upstairs and end the noise.
The hammer wasn’t the only aspect he bemoaned. O’Donnell complained about words he wanted to cut, an earpiece malfunction, and his unprofessional staff.
The footage was leaked to Mediaite by someone who had access to the network’s uncut footage. The incident took place during the August 29 episode.
O’Donnell Issues an Apology
Once the video made the rounds, O’Donnell went to Twitter to issue an apology for his on-air meltdown:
“A better anchorman and a better person would've had a better reaction to technical difficulties. I'm sorry.”
Many of his followers on the social network have been forgiving. At the same time, many of his detractors took the opportunity to poke fun at the left-leaning media personality.
Here are some of the funniest tweets:
O’Donnell’s outburst was reminiscent of former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, who became an Internet sensation for leaked footage of one of his explosions in the early part of his career.
The conservative celebrity went on one of his own expletive rants over the words “to play us out” appearing on the teleprompter. O’Reilly’s irksome behavior produced one of the greatest memes ever:
“We’ll do it live! F--- it! We’ll do it live! I’ll write it and we’ll do it live! F---ing thing sucks!”
What may be the funniest part of the clip was at the end. He threw his pen, vehemently took off his blazer and stormed off the set.
For viewers at home, cable television news can seem dry and dull. This means when something out of the ordinary occurs live, it will go viral – or if something happens behind the scenes, it may be leaked.
Over the years, we have witnessed on-the-scene reporters yelling at immature bystanders, anchors getting upset with each other and guests being awkward.
To play us out, with the hammering in the background, here is one of the funniest anchor-to-anchor showdowns in local television news history:
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