A storm in Australia: the journalist appeared drunk on air and stuttered

Australian sports journalist Danica Mason apologized tonight (between Wednesday and Thursday) after a video clip in which she was seen speaking strangely and with garbled words during a live broadcast from the Winter Olympics in Italy went viral and caused a stir on social media. Mason, the sports reporter for Australia’s Channel 9 and one of the prominent figures in the coverage of the National Rugby League, admitted that she was wrong when she drank alcohol before going on air – which explains the strange behavior.

The incident took place on Wednesday, during a live broadcast to the morning show in Australia from the competitions in Milan-Cortina. During the report on the sporting events of that day, Mason had difficulty speaking fluently, mixed up words and even between Britain and the United States, and spoke, among other things, about coffee prices in Italy and iguanas in the United States. At one point she even performed the form of snow angels. Moderator Carl Stefanovitz could be heard laughing in the background and raised the possibility that the intense cold affected her lips and said that “in this kind of weather you can’t move your lips.”

The segments from the broadcast provoked mixed reactions in Australia. Some surfers expressed support and wrote that there is no problem with this and that she seems to be enjoying the experience, while others claimed that if it is not a health problem then it is unprofessional conduct that has consequences. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also commented on the affair, saying that he supports Mason and that “there is no story here”, alluding to the possibility of fatigue from long flights.

Last night, Mason appeared live again on the same show, and after finishing the sports update asked to stop for a moment to apologize. She thanked viewers who contacted her with messages of concern and said she was fine but a little embarrassed.

According to her, she erred in judgment and should not have drunk, especially in conditions of severe cold and high altitude, adding that the fact that she did not eat dinner that day was also related to this. She emphasized that she accepts full responsibility and that this “is not the standard she sets for herself.”

Mason ended with a sincere apology and thanked again for the messages she received, and expressed hope that the remaining days of the Winter Olympics “will be successful and that the focus will return to the sport.” Waitress Jane Azzopardi replied that everyone knows how hard she works, and Stefanovitz added: “You’re the best, Danica, don’t worry about it. You have to move on, you’re a legend.”