Come Again? ITV Host Heckled After Mistakenly Announcing the Death of Pope Francis
00:22 GMT 26.12.2021 (Updated: 00:23 GMT 26.12.2021)
© REUTERS / Yara Nardi
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On Saturday, Pope Francis delivered a Christmas address from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, urging both individuals and world leaders to not shy away from social relationships and meaningful dialogue. The pontiff also expressed the importance of hearing and seeing victims, rather than becoming numb to tragedy and death.
While covering Pope Francis' Christmas address during a live broadcast, ITV's Kylie Pentelow unintentionally went viral by mistakenly announcing that the pontiff had passed away.
"Meanwhile the pope's festive address focused on his prayers for the pandemic to come to an end," Pentelow said as b-roll footage of Pope Francis played. "He said vaccines should be made available to those most in need."
To the surprise of viewers, Pentelow went on to say "his death was announced... Excuse me."
While the blunder was brief and the host immediately went to the next segment, netizens did not miss a beat, but were forgiving of the morbid faux pas.
Someone get this newsreader a drink STAT. We all make mistakes.
— Scott Bryan (@scottygb) December 25, 2021
— Richie B (@HorizontalsRich) December 25, 2021
— Rob McGregor (@SamuraiPizzaRob) December 25, 2021
I once killed Bob Dylan in a similar fashion...
— (((Pat McMenamin))) (@prmcmenamin) December 25, 2021
— Janek Puzon (@Janek80) December 25, 2021
To be clear: the pontiff is alive and well.
