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Sue Simmons Drops F-Bomb On-Air (Though Off-Camera)
By
Jen Chung
Published May 13, 2008
Modified May 13, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published May 13, 2008
Modified May 13, 2008
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Beloved WNBC anchor Sue Simmons was doing a promo during the 10 p.m. hour for the 11 p.m. news broadcast, when she went from describing a story about food prices going up and the weight of food products going down to saying "What the fuck are you doing?!" (See video above.) When the 11 p.m. broadcast rolled around, there was no mention of the mishap until after the lead stories were out of the way and then Simmons faced the camera:
"We need to acknowledge an unfortunate mistake that i made in one of the teases we bring to you before this program. While we were live, just after 10 o'clock, I said a word that many people find offensive. I'm truly sorry it was a mistake on my part and I sincerely apologize."
WNBC did not have comment for the Daily News, and the Post says it's unclear who Simmons was screaming at. Three years ago, reporter Arthur Chi'en was fired from WCBS 2 after he asked two men--one Opie & Anthony intern and one Howard Stern flunky--who were harassing him, "What the fuck's your problem, man?" (See the video after the jump.)
Chi'en did not realize he was on air, but WCBS 2 still fired him. A year later, an arbitrator found the station acted wrongly, saying Chi'en should have been reprimanded instead, pointed out "the evidence reveals that Mr. Chi'en did not intend for his words to be heard on-air, that this was a singular incident in which the word 'fuck' was used outside any sexual context, that the Station did not receive a single complaint about the incident."
More hilarious moments in Sue Simmons' on-air WNBC history:
Falling out of a chair
Her Groundhog impression:
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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