A North Dakota news station is facing overwhelming backlash from viewers upset with the firing of a new weekend news anchor who spent his first moments with the station cursing on live TV
A.J. Clemente, formerly of KFYR-TV in Bismarck announced his termination on Monday after he opened Sunday evening's newscast saying 'F****** S***,' making for a shocking and humiliating entrance.
'Rookie mistake. I’m a free agent. Can’t help but laugh at myself and stay positive,' Clemente later wrote on Twitter after being suspended and getting through what he described as a 'tough day.'
SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEOS
Fired: A.J. Clemente, a former weekend news anchor of WFYR-TV in North Dakota, has now been fired after he spent his first moments on the air with the station cursing
Gaffe: New KFYR co-anchor A.J. Clemente started his first day on the job by swearing into his microphone, perhaps unaware that it was live
By Tuesday morning more than 1,500 comments for the majority calling the station's reaction overboard responded to an apology posted to the station's Facebook page by its news director, Monica Hannan, on Sunday.
There she offered her 'personal assurance that I will do my best to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again under my watch.'
More...
Shamed former congressman Anthony Weiner is back on Twitter - the SAME social network that RUINED his career less than two years ago
Worst date ever: Man who built a menu-fort to block out girl he was bickering with finds unwanted internet fame
'I think we're all adults and are quite capable of getting over it. It's a non-issue. You don't incorporate profanity in your newscasts, and everyone makes a mistake now and again, so let them off the hook and proceed as normal,' one woman responded to the apology on the Facebook page.
'AJ Clemente made an honest mistake and you should give him another chance. Have him give an on-the-air apology and move forward. This world has bigger issues than someone accidentally cussing on live TV,' another man who identified himself as a managing editor for a business journal wrote.
Smile through the pain: His co-anchor, Van Tieu, stumbled through her introduction of her co-worker following his string of profanities
Probably not the best way to start your new job. Anchor begins...
News: Clemente Tweeted the station's decision to let him go while thanking everyone for their support
Others saw opportunity to laugh at the situation, including one Facebook user who said 'A.J. Clemente spoke from the heart on today's Bismarck newscast.'
DAVID LETTERMAN'S TOP 10 SIGNS YOUR FIRST DAY AS A NEWS ANCHOR DIDN'T GO WELL
10. You’re wearing two neckties
9. Kept mispronouncing your own name
8. Weatherman tells you to expect an 80% chance of unemployment
7. Your tearful, on-air admission of falsifying your resume
6. Referring to Kim Jong Un as Our great and powerful leader
5. No one appreciated your Walter Cronkite impression
4. Last story of the broadcast announced a job opening for a news anchor
3. Received congratulatory phone call from Sue Simmons (Video of former WNBC-TV anchor Sue Simmons: 'What the f*** are you doing!?')
2. Kept dropping your pants and yelling 'This just in!'
1. Aspired to be the next Ernie Anastos (Video of Ernie Anastos: 'Keep f****** that chicken')
Sharing the punch, on Monday night talk-show host David Letterman dedicated his Top 10 list to Clemente titled, Top Ten Signs Your First Day as a News Anchor Didn't Go Well.
Two included nods to previous profane mistakes made by news anchors on air.
The station has yet to make a public statement over his termination while Clemente's former co-anchor Vann Tieu Tweeted to his announced firing with her own words of encouragement.
'Can't say anything about the decision, but best of luck as you bounce back from this! You will recover buddy!' she wrote.
Tieu appeared momentarily tongue-tied beside Clement at the anchor desk immediately after his audio was picked up.
Clemente also appeared visibly rattled from his gaffe, thanked Tieu for the introduction and began talking about his history, saying he is a graduate of West Virginia University.
‘I’m used to, you know, from being from the East Coast,’ he stumbled.
The new co-anchor then went into reading about a fatal crash that happened earlier that day.
Clemente later Tweeted that he was trying to 'pronounce the London Marathon winner's name Tsegaye Kebede' of Ethiopia when he slipped up, and contrary to what some accused, 'did not say the word gay.'
'Cursing anchor' AJ Clemente inspires Letterman Top 10
Nerves: Clemente expressed some nervousness to his Twitter followers before going on the air on Sunday
Crash and burn: Clemente later gave his followers a less-than cheerful update on how it went, if they missed it on live TV
Tieu later returned on air to issue a public apology for his language by the station.
Following the broadcast, Clemente tweeted: ‘That couldn’t have gone any worse!’
‘I want to apologize for an incident that occurred prior to our early newscast this evening, when one of our employees used profanity on the air,’ Hannan, KFYR-TV wrote in her Facebook apology on Sunday.
‘He did not realize his microphone was on, but still, that's no excuse. We train our reporters to always assume that any microphone is live at any time. Unfortunately, that was not enough in this case. WE can't take back what was said.
Reaction: The station's manager later said that Clemente was suspended 'until we resolve the situation'
‘The person involved has been suspended until we resolve the situation. All we can do at this point is ask for your forgiveness, and I can offer my personal assurance that I will do my best to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again under my watch.’
Perhaps the most famous slip-up, however, was from Fox 5 News’ Ernie Anastos, an Emmy-award winning writer. The New York City nightly news anchor playfully told his co-anchor to ‘keep on f****** that chicken.’The newcast clip became a viral hit, in no small part because of the grimace on his co-anchor Dari Alexander’s face.