It’s hard to go live on TV when you’re being pestered by a raccoon.
On Wednesday, CNN “New Day” anchor Alisyn Camerota shared a hilarious video of her colleague senior White House correspondent Joe Johns to prove it.
RELATED: Minnesota Raccoon Scales Skyscraper In 2-Day Misadventure That Captivated Internet
This is what a consummate professional @joejohnscnn is. Seconds before his @NewDay live shot, he fends off a raccoon attack! Just another day in the nutty news cycle. #behindthescenes #whitehouseraccoon #wildlife pic.twitter.com/p13w3QICiD
— Alisyn Camerota (@AlisynCamerota) October 7, 2020
In the clip, Johns fends off a raccoon off-screen just seconds before having to go live on television.
“Freaking raccoons, man,” Johns says in the video. “God, again! This is the second time!”
As Johns later explained on Twitter, that had been the second time in two weeks that a raccoon showed up when he was about to appear on “New Day”.
So it’s the 2d time in two weeks a raccoon has shown up shortly after the @NewDay open. I think they’re attracted to the lights. No animals were harmed. I threw something to scare it off. #CrazyOuttakes https://t.co/VXBPflFYGm
— joe johns (@joejohnscnn) October 7, 2020
Speaking to CNN on Wednesday, Johns said, “So, this is the second time the raccoon has come back at the top of ‘New Day.’ Who knows why, but I think it’s the light that attracts the animals, and you add to that — the fact that White House campus is now barren of people… and the animals have run of the house,” Johns said.
He added that because he managed to shoo the animal away before he went live, viewers at home would have had no idea what happened just moments earlier.
“The magic of television and no one had a clue,” he said.
