In a wild incident from way back in 2022, one entertaining and relevant given that much the same thing happened to Fox News Channel during the Trump-supported Army parade over the summer, a news anchor for CBS 6 Albany was suspended and later left the network after allegedly showing up drunk on air. The anchor denied the charges, insisting that she was merely exhausted.
The incident occurred back in July of 2022, and the anchor involved is named Heather Kovar. She showed up on air looking extremely disheveled, with her hair a mess and her general attitude one of something other than professionalism, and went on to rattle off a number of bizarre statements that were, at times, almost unintelligible.
At one point, for example, during her 6 pm broadcast, Kovar struggled ot even read off of the teleprompter while trying to do the segment, and with her hair a mess and general aura one of sloppiness, managed to forget the name of one of her colleagues, using the wrong name.
At another point, she tried to comment on a shooting in Ohio, rambling, “We have to tell you, also, you know, like the other news that’s happening in the area and across the, you know, the area and the nation. A four — let me tell you about this — a 4-year-old girl is actually dead. Another man is clinging to life after a shooting in Ohio.”
Naturally, the internet assumed she was drunk and called her out for the broadcast trainwreck. One such poster, for example, said, “A Local News Anchor Appears To Be Drunk! Heather Kovar was suspended by CBS6 Albany on Sunday, a day after she appeared disoriented during the TV station’s Saturday evening broadcast. Kovar said she was suffering from sleep deprivation and exhaustion.”
Another, commenting on the general situation and the incident where she used the wrong name for her colleague, said, “Viewers expressing concern over train wreck of local evening newscast out of Albany. Anchor Heather Kovar appeared disheveled, misspoke, and slurred her words for the entire newscast. Here, she tries to set up the weather and toss to the meteorologist, who’s name she gets wrong.”
Still another poster, commenting on the general situation and how ridiculous Kovar’s trainwreck of a broadcast was, said, “🥂🍻In other news: An upstate New York TV anchor, Heather Kovar, was suspended over an incoherent broadcast where she appeared drunk.” Watch the disaster of a broadcast here:
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Kovar, for her part, insisted in a statement issued after the incident that she was merely tired, not drunk, saying, “I recently returned early from family leave following my dad’s death. On Friday, I notified the station I would not be renewing my contract which expires July 31. Saturday I was scheduled to work the early morning 6 a.m. shift and the evening shift. I was sleep-deprived and exhausted.” The station, for its part, said that, due to the on-air incident, it “has been decided that she will remain off the air for the remainder of her contract.”
Adding credence to the allegations that Kovar was drunk on air is that, in 2024, she was arrested in a bizarre incident in which too many margaritas at Applebee’s turned into her violently attacking her boyfriend, breaking his nose and biting his arm while punching him 12 times in an alcohol-fueled incident of domestic violence. She was arrested and charged with misdemeanor family violence.
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video