UK-based popular BBC news anchor Maryam Moshiri was recently caught showing a middle finger to someone behind the camera during a live news broadcast on the channel on Wednesday.
After the clip of the act went viral on social media, the journalist issued an apology stating that it was a “private joke” and not an intended offense for the viewers or for anyone else. In the viral clip, Moshiri could be seen raising her middle finger for a fraction of a second before she started delivering the evening’s top news stories.
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Anchor Says It Was A “Private Joke” For Limited Audience
In an officially issued apology, the anchor took to her verified social media handle and clarified that the gesture was a “private joke” intended for a limited audience of friends. Her apology came the next morning. But by that time, the video had already gone largely viral on social media.
“I was pretending to count down as the director was counting me down from 10-0 … including the fingers to show the number,” she explained in her post on X (previously Twitter).“When we got to 1 I turned finger around as a joke and did not realize that this would be caught on camera,” she further added in the post.
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Moshiri Was Promoted To Be News Presenter Early This Year
She further clarified that it was not her intention to make the gesture on air and apologized if anyone was offended by it. “I’m sorry if I offended or upset anyone…I wasn’t ‘flipping the bird’ at viewers or even a person really,” she explained.
Maryam Moshiri is a popular face on the BBC and has also worked as a business presenter in her career with BBC for 16 years. As part of her promotion, the anchor climbed the ladder to become the live news presenter on the World News channel. After working in that role for about four years, she recently assumed her current position as a chief presenter on BBC News in early 2023.
Despite an apology from Moshiri, the social media has not taken the gesture very well. She is widely being criticized for what many are deeming as irresponsible behavior for a news presenter who perhaps delivers headlines on the most important and pressing issues that the world is grappling with.
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