This Is Why You Should Never Interview Drunk People
I've been in radio all of my adult life, and in that time I have interviewed countless people. From stars like Don Henley, Carlos Santana, and Jay Leno to the manager of the local furniture store. I once interviewed Weird Al Yankovic at a record store where he proceeded to get in a food fight with a local TV reporter.
in my experience, there are two empirical rules about interviewing:
1) Be prepared for the unexpected.
2) Never interview drunk people.
On July 4th, a television reporter in Hermosa Beach, California, learned both lessons the hard way.
KTLA-TV reporter Wendy Burch was on assignment at the 43rd annual "ironman" competition. Now this is not your typical Ironman Triathlon event where contestants swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and run a full marathon all in that order, without a break. Hermosa Beach's ironman competitors run one mile, paddleboard a mile, then come back to the beach and chug a six-pack of beer.
You can probably see where this is going. Wendy pulls one of the contestants over to interview him about his ironman experience. While she's talking to him, a person off camera takes advantage of the opportunity and projectile vomits onto the interviewee and interviewer.
The best part is, it was all caught live on the air and recorded for posterity. No doubt it will be something Wendy proudly tells her grandchildren about someday.