Suspended TV News Anchor A.J. Clemente Now Fired
Bismarck, ND — A.J. Clemente made his new anchoring debut on Sunday night in North Dakota and for him, it turned out to be one and done.
Unfortunately, the microphone picked up a nervous A.J. muttering the words “f**kin’ sh*t” for all the world to hear as the “Evening Report” began. The clip went viral.
C0-anchor Van Tieu realized her colleague has been caught swearing, but soldiered on professionally, allowing A.J. to say a few non-swear words about himself by way of introduction to the viewers of the NBC affiliate. To say it’s awkward would be an understatement. To say that the introduction was unimpressive would be an understatement.
The affiliate, KFYR-TV, suspended Clemente and posted an apology on Facebook for the on-air profanity. Later that same evening, Van Tieu herself delivered an apology on behalf of NBC North Dakota News in the open of the station’s “Night Report.” Tieu added the station trains its reporters to assume any mic is live at any time and moreover that something like the Clemente incident won’t happen again.
The very apologetic Clemente, who may have worked for other stations under the name Alex Borrero, admitted on his Twitter feed that things “couldn’t have gone any worse.” But it turns out that he was wrong because the station fired him after just this one appearance. Clemente announced his termination via his Twitter feed, referring to himself as a free agent.
Unfortunately KFYRTV has decided to let me go. Thank you to them and everyone in ND for the opportunity and everyone for the support.
— A.J. Clemente (@ClementeAJ) April 22, 2013
Rookie mistake. I’m a free agent.Cant help but laugh at myself and stay positive.Wish i didnt trip over my “Freaking Shoes” out of the gate.
— A.J. Clemente (@ClementeAJ) April 22, 2013
Clemente may have also encountered an issue with pronunciation on his first and final broadcast:
I just want to say that I did not say the word gay, I was trying to pronounce the London Marathon winners name Tsegaye Kebede.
— A.J. Clemente (@ClementeAJ) April 22, 2013
Do you think the North Dakota TV station overreacted by suspending and then firing A.J. Clemente? Could the internet notoriety ironically be good for his career in some ways?
