An irate man confronted NBC News’ Shaquille Brewster on live television Monday as the correspondent was reporting on Tropical Storm Ida in coastal Mississippi.
Brewster was doing a live MSNBC shot from Gulfport when a white pickup truck could be seen pulling up behind him as a man jumped out and sprinted toward the reporter.
Moments later, the man got in Brewster’s face before the correspondent calmly ended the report. The man could be heard shouting at Brewster to “report accurately.”
“Hey, hey, hey,” concerned anchor Craig Melvin said. “We’re going to check in with Shaq Brewster just to make sure all is well. There’s a lot of crazy out there, a lot of crazy.”
Moments later, Brewster tweeted that he was OK and Melvin also told viewers the correspondent wasn’t hurt.
“You probably saw or heard a few moments ago, one of our correspondents was disrupted by some wacky guy during his live shot there in Mississippi,” Melvin said. “Pleased to report that Shaquille Brewster is doing just fine. Shaq is OK.”
Before the confrontation, a family had been strolling on the beach with dogs, so Brewster initially believed it was pets — and not the man from the pickup truck — rushing up to him from behind.
The man was moved off-camera for a few seconds when Brewster had the camera shift away to another angle, and an NBC News producer intercepted the charging heckler.
Brewster used his forearm to shield himself as the man walked back up to him and incoherently rambled “report accurately!” before the producer and photographer were able to separate the men. The heckler then left.
MSNBC President Rashida Jones praised Brewster as a “consummate professional” who kept his cool and wouldn’t be intimidated.
“Shaq Brewster is an exceptional journalist,” Jones said.
“Like the consummate professional, he did not let someone intimidate him from doing his job. We’re glad he and the team are safe, and we couldn’t be more proud and supportive of their work.”
Other journalists also praised Brewster’s restraint.
“Shout out to this reporter because I would’ve been fighting this man live on MSNBC,” author and journalist Jamal Jordan said.
NBC News correspondent Ali Vitali said the “poise and class we all saw from” Brewster is “just who he is— on and off camera.”
“So, so glad he’s OK,” she added.
Rima Abdelkader contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
