Even seasoned TV anchors have moments they’d rather forget. FOX 26 evening anchor Anthony Antoine is leaning into one of those moments after a recent on-air stumble, joking that it was the “worst blooper in my career.”
Instead of trying to hide the mistake, Antoine shared the clip on social media with a self-deprecating message.
“I just had the worst mess-up of my career, and in order for me not to cry, I’m going to try to laugh this off so y’all have fun with this, and I’ll see y’all tomorrow after I’ve had some sleep.”
The blooper happened while Antoine was reporting on Houston Methodist’s latest rankings in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals list. As he read the script, he repeatedly stumbled over “obstetrics and gynecology.”
“Leading the national rankings in gastroenterology, placed 5th, obst- obste- gynecolol-, wow, what the? Gynecology 7th and cardiology took the 10th spot,” Antoine said during the broadcast.
Afterward, Antoine explained that the phrase hadn’t given him any trouble during rehearsal.
He said the teleprompter displayed the words in a way that threw him off, leaving him momentarily unable to connect what he was seeing with what he wanted to say.
“I was actually kind of scared, if I’m being honest, because the words in my brain and my mouth were not connecting,” he said. “I could have just said OBGYN or obstetrics and gynecology. I thought I had it.”
Looking back, Antoine laughed at the moment and said he’ll chalk it up as a learning experience.
“You live, and you learn, man, but hey, I’ll do it again tomorrow, and I’m damn good at my job, so hey, it is what it is.”
The self-deprecating video quickly struck a chord online. On TikTok, where it has been viewed nearly 200,000 times, commenters turned the flub into a joke of its own.
“That’s a big word for Elmo!” one person wrote.
“The ‘what the’ like you not the one in control of your own mouth,” another joked.
Antoine joined in on the fun, replying, “Them words turned me every way but loose.”
“If that’s the worst of your career, you’re doing pretty good!” ABC13 reporter Brianna Conner commented.
Earlier in his career, he worked at a CBS affiliate in Champaign, Ill., rising from part-time camera operator to morning anchor and earning his first Emmy nomination.