The middle finger of the BBC presenter who went around the world
WHO. Presenter Maryam Moshiri accidentally flashed her middle finger at the start of the BBC's midday news programme.
THAT. The video went viral and Moshiri apologized, claiming that it was a “private joke” with his colleagues and that he did not realize they were broadcasting.
BECAUSE. The presenter, of Iranian origin, was a correspondent for Al Jazeera and has been working on BBC news programs for 15 years.
It was 10 seconds until the midday news bulletin was broadcast on the BBC.. Presenter Maryam Moshiri simulated the countdown and, as a joke with her colleagues, raised her middle finger while raising her eyebrows and gesticulating playfully at the camera.
The news program started like this, with the presenter 'stretching the bird', as they say in the British Isles. Or what is the same, 'giving the finger' to the spectators who were left speechless: until the presenter realized that they were on the air and announced very seriously: “Live from London, this is the news from the BBC…”
The joke went unnoticed for hours, but someone leaked the clip and the finger went viral on the networks and went around the world.. The BBC opened an internal investigation and producer Robert Coxwell vengefully warned: “Someone's Christmas holidays are going to come early.”
The commotion reached such a point that the presenter was forced to apologize on her X account: “Hello everyone. Yesterday, right before the news show, I was joking with the crew in the studio. “I pretended to count to 10 with all my fingers until I reached one, not realizing at the time that it would be caught on camera.”
“It was a private joke, and I'm very sorry it was broadcast,” Moshiri added.. “It was not my intention and I apologize.. I didn't want to 'stretch the bird' to the viewers. “It was a silly joke for my teammates.”. With his hyper-professional face, Moshiri immediately went on to recount the appearance of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson before the Covid investigation, which has fueled speculation about the possible recipient of digitus impudicus, as the Romans called it.. There was also a rumor that the finger was aimed at Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his plans to deport migrants pending asylum applications to Rwanda, the second news of the day.
In any case, Maryam Moshiri has become world famous for her eloquence and telegenicity.. Born 46 years ago in Tehran, she lived with her family in the United Kingdom since she was a child. She was a correspondent for Al Jazeera before making the jump to the BBC, working for 15 years in news programs such as The Business Briefing, The Context and The Daily Global. .
Last September, Moshiri also made headlines due to a technical problem on another news program, when he was announcing the story of the supermoon and the video did not appear on time.. “I'm sorry we can't see the images,” he said, while using his hands to make a circle in front of the cameras to simulate the moon.. The recent gaffe has brought to mind a slip that occurred in 2010, when cameras caught BBC weatherman Tomasz Schafernaker giving the middle finger to presenter Simon McCoy.. and surreptitiously putting it to his chin when he realized that they were in the air.
Two years later, the singer MIA gave the note in the Superbowl final by showing the famous finger and exonerating herself by claiming that it was “a spiritual gesture of the Hindu goddess Matangi”. Then, as now, quotes from anthropologist Desmond Morris abounded, reminding us that it is “one of the oldest known offenses” and that its interpretation is the same in all cultures: “The middle finger is the penis and the fingers bent on each side are the testicles.