April 11, 2017

This is a wonderful palate cleanser after yesterday's exposed-belly doctor getting dragged off the airplane.



It's Natasha Exelby, soaring in the stardom of viral media after screwing up in her role as a newsreader for the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

41 comments:

Darcy said...

Aww. And I believe they fired her for that.

Michael K said...

Nobody will top this prank for a while.

Darrell said...

On Tuesday, ABC Director of News Gaven Morris denied Exelby had been punished, but said she was not currently scheduled for any news reading shifts.
"Media reports that Natasha has been 'banned', 'barred' or 'fired' are untrue," he said.
"While she is not currently doing any on-air shifts, this will be subject to normal performance management. I have spoken to Natasha and conveyed our regret that this has attracted such attention."
The broadcaster was committed to offering Exelby "various shifts" in the future, he said.

Goldenpause said...

This could wind up being a boost to her career if she plays her cards right (and pays attention to when she is on camera),

Anonymous said...

Well, I hope she isn't fired. She should have been paying more attention, but it was just a mistake. Nothing venal. I'd sit her down off air for a week and then put her back up on screen. JPG

Ann Althouse said...

@Michael K

I have never found that funny. It's racist and laughing at people who died.

Fernandinande said...

Great recovery!

Darrell said...
"Media reports ... are untrue,"
said the media report guy.

Dave D said...

I think it is a cute blunder. As usual for me, her English accent makes her sound more "official" in my ear. And I have to (ashamedly) agree with Michael K, Professor. That is darned funny. I worked with Sum Ting and Ho Lee back in grad school and they were a real hoot!

Curious George said...

Fake.

FullMoon said...

I like "news reader" as a description. America makes these people seem more important than they are

Michael K said...

"I have never found that funny."

I did. Different strokes, as they say. It was a great prank and I expect they could not believe it when the TV fell for it.

The stupidity of the pilots (Have you read any accounts of why it happened?) excuses what some might consider "racism."

Michael K said...

Why don't you read about why the stupid pilots wrecked that plane, and give up the virtue signaling, Ann?

tim in vermont said...

That was cute.

FullMoon said...

Ann Althouse said...

@Michael K

I have never found that funny. It's racist and laughing at people who died.


Nope, it is laughing at the stupidity of our special newsreaders, and their entire organization.

Bob Boyd said...

UA passenger drag-off update: Apparently he left the plane once then snuck back on before refusing to leave.

"Dao, an Elizabethtown doctor, is familiar to many Kentuckians who recall his convictions on drug-related offenses in 2004.

Dao, who went to medical school in Vietnam in the 1970s before moving to the U.S., has worked as a pulmonologist in Elizabethtown but was arrested in 2003 and eventually convicted of drug-related offenses after an undercover investigation, according to documents filed with the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure last June.

As for Dao's history as a doctor in Kentucky, the medical licensure board documents allege that he was involved in fraudulent prescriptions for controlled substances and was sexually involved with a patient who used to work for his practice and assisted police in building a case against him.

Dao was convicted of multiple felony counts of obtaining drugs by fraud or deceit in November 2004 and was placed on five years of supervised probation in January 2005, according to the documents. He surrendered his medical license the next month.

The Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure permitted Dao to resume practicing medicine in 2015 under certain conditions."

http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2017/04/11/david-dao-passenger-removed-united-flight-doctor-troubled-past/100318320/

FullMoon said...

Ann Althouse said...

@Michael K

I have never found that funny.


Incidentally, to make things even worse, a survivor was killed when run over by a firetruck. The whole incident was disgustingly inept.

Bob Boyd said...

Althouse's instincts prove reliable once again.

Michael K said...

The doctor seems inept and might have been on drugs. UA still was amazingly inept in how they handled it and will be lucky to get away with a modest judgement. The doc will probably lose considerable credibility with his record.

I only fly Southwest unless I'm going international. We did use Alaska going to Alaska last fall.

Airlines ought to go back top a system they used in the 60s where there were three classes of passengers. The lowest fare did not include meals and expected the level of service we got. Full fare coach should be a step up in seat width, etc.

Ann Althouse said...

"Why don't you read about why the stupid pilots wrecked that plane, and give up the virtue signaling, Ann?"

Because real people died. It's just not where I go looking for laughs.

If you want me to examine the human error that led to a plane crash, I might do that, but it has nothing to do with whether it's funny to do jokes about people who just got killed by using old-fashioned humor based on Chinese names. and accents. I'm not "virtue signaling" because I'm not attempting to get other people to regard me as virtuous. I am directing this at you, Michael K. You should be better than to dig up this years-old thing. I was trying to put up a post that was light in tone and you stepped on it saying something else was better, I went to the link, and I was appalled that you chose that. It's really bad.

Michael K said...

"a survivor was killed when run over by a firetruck. The whole incident was disgustingly inept."

The three girls killed were in the rear and may not have been wearing seat belts. All were ejected. Everybody should have survived.

Michael K said...

"I went to the link, and I was appalled that you chose that. It's really bad."

The post was about stupid newsreaders and so was my comment.

We will just have to agree to disagree.

Ann Althouse said...

"Nope, it is laughing at the stupidity of our special newsreaders, and their entire organization."

The newsreader had the job of reading the script. How was this person, who was humiliated on air, supposed to figure out in real time that she shouldn't do her normal job?

In the new clip, it's funny because the newsreader was NOT doing her job and she got caught. That is, we are laughing at a person who we see plainly screwing up right there on camera.

In the old clip, some asshole did something mischievous and sought to a comical result at the expense of the newsreader, who is on camera to be laughed at. The asshole is operating outside of our view -- basically, a troll. If you like that kind of humor, maybe you need to go through the experience of seeing your daughter trolled like that and the whole world laughing and calling her stupid.

Michael K said...

You probably don't think this is funny, either.

JPS said...

Good palate-cleanser. I hope it doesn't hurt her career. Cost them about one second of airtime, she realized her mistake and snapped to.

I found her reaction very likable. Having tuned out of boring and off-topic conference calls only to be suddenly addressed by name, I sort of understand.

vanderleun said...

Well I can certainly see why Ann after her drubbing yesterday in the United thread wants this minor clip to push that topic down, down, down the page. Remember kids, as soon as you can get the embarrassing item to scroll off the sooner you can make the readers forget. That's why everything is repeated.

MisterBuddwing said...

The newsreader had the job of reading the script. How was this person, who was humiliated on air, supposed to figure out in real time that she shouldn't do her normal job?

I blame the newsroom staff for that ridiculous episode. I'd like to think if I'd read that before it went on the air, my first thought would have been, "These are not Korean-sounding names." I'd like to think my second thought would have been ... not suitable for air.

Bob Boyd said...

Maybe there should be a poll about whether the Sum Ting Wong prank is funny or not.

MisterBuddwing said...



And once the results are in, then what?

(I don't watch "Saturday Night Live" anymore, but I hear Alec Baldwin's recurring appearances as President Trump are a huge hit.)

Paul J said...

"One of the teenage girls survived the crash but was run over by two rescue vehicles in the chaos afterward."

Not one, but two!!! Wiley Coyote territory.

Not sure what theory of humor has it that people dying cannot be funny, but pretty confident it's a feminine one, and not the most insightful.

Michael K said...

At least one of us has a puckish sense of humor.

I find a lot things funny that others may not.

On the other hand, I've held people's hearts in my hand as they died.

dreams said...

"The doctor seems inept and might have been on drugs. UA still was amazingly inept in how they handled it and will be lucky to get away with a modest judgement. The doc will probably lose considerable credibility with his record."

Because he is Chinese, China is really upset over the incident and the Chinese have more options in choosing which airline to fly out of China so this could cost UAL some lost revenue.

Paul J said...

Maybe laughing at the dead (or hurt) is thought to be incompatible with compassion for them.

Certainly, when someone takes a frying pan to the head (bonk!), they will frequently be incapable of appreciating the humor that may be present. And when in the presence of the funnily hurt, we will stifle our laughter. But it may be beyond our power to fully stifle.

Sometimes the truth hurts.

Michael K said...

" this could cost UAL some lost revenue."

The UAL stock is down over 3% which is about $700 million. A $1500 voucher seems cheaper.

FullMoon said...

Ann Althouse said...

.... , maybe you need to go through the experience of seeing your daughter trolled like that and the whole world laughing and calling her stupid.


Oh, I don't know. Maybe I like the idea of a professional who is supposed to be smarter than me, who calls Trump a liar every night on local TV, who repeated "hands up, don't shoot", who showed pictures of poor little 12 year old Trayvon Martin night after night, showing how average she really is.

Michael K said...

maybe you need to go through the experience of seeing your daughter trolled like that and the whole world laughing and calling her stupid.

I missed that part and quit reading once I saw I was being scolded.

This is the age of the participation trophy. Daughters are too delicate to be made fun of. Only sons.

Of course, sons who are "rapists " deserve what they get.

California Snow said...

I still think its hilarious, @Michael K. That intern's work will live forever.

Fernandinande said...

Dave Barry has a strict policy of not making fun of names, so he can't link to his own blog.

(Mary D Hornfuckle)

Infinite Monkeys said...

On the other hand, I've held people's hearts in my hand as they died.

You seldom see doctors bragging about patients dying.

Mark said...

Can anyone here tell us about the sin of detraction? Anyone? Anyone? Bob? How about you?

Michael K said...

I assume that's Ritmo making another stupid comment with a new blank ID,

Have you ever done anything worth while ?

Bill said...

I love her!