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Worst First Day Ever? TV Anchor Fired After Profane Debut

I'm sure many of us have had pretty bad first days — at school, at a new job, a bad first date. But this weekend, we got word of a case that may take the cake.

A.J. Clemente was making his debut as weekend anchor for KFYR in Bismarck, N.D.

Just before his co-anchor made the big introduction and obviously unaware that he was live, he let a series of bad words fly, apparently because he was not succeeding at pronouncing the name of the London Marathon winner, Tsegaye Kebede. Here's the video, which we have started after the profanities. If you want to listen, rewind to the beginning:

CBS News reports:

"The NBC affiliate said in an earlier statement that Clemente was suspended following the Sunday evening broadcast. General manager Dick Heidt says he can't discuss the incident because it's a personnel matter.

"The station posted an apology online and co-anchorwoman Van Tieu also apologized during the 10 p.m. newscast."

Well, a couple of hours ago, Clemente posted some bad news on Twitter:

"Unfortunately KFYRTV has decided to let me go. Thank you to them and everyone in ND for the opportunity and everyone for the support."

He added:

"Rookie mistake. I'm a free agent.Cant help but laugh at myself and stay positive.Wish i didnt trip over my "Freaking Shoes" out of the gate."

This leads us to ask: What's your best — in a bad, or good way — first-day story?

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.