A news anchor left viewers flabbergasted when she appeared disheveled and slurring her speech during a broadcast over the weekend.
Albany, New York anchor Heather Kovar struggled to make it through an evening broadcast Saturday night for WRGB CBS 6. Her words blended together and she seemed to be repeating herself and stammering.
The scene was disconcerting to many viewers.
Kovar, an Emmy award winning reporter, gave an incomprehensible description of the heatwave facing much of the country.
She said:
“More than 50 million people across the country, southeast or under warnings for excessive heat and boy, don’t you know that, a 105 degrees in Texas today. I just spoke with my mother as for what she’s dealing with, it’s a major heatwave and it’s, it’s just hitting everywhere, we’re so lucky, its only 80 degrees here.”
At another point, Kovar said some strange phrases such as “these areas are reaching such areas...” and misnamed her coworker Craig Gold as Craig Adams.
Her appearance was uncharacteristic and movements were jittery. The segment was cut off part way through, with Kovar telling viewers on Twitter she’ll see them again on Sunday.
Shortly after, the station announced she was suspended.
Kovar explained the whole situation was down to exhaustion.
According to the anchor, she was sleep deprived. While some people may roll their eyes at that explanation, there seems to be some weight to it.
Kovar previously shared her work schedule on Twitter, showing she was going from late shifts to early morning shifts back to back.
Additionally, some internet commenters discovered she’d been home in May to be with her father who was in hospice.
It seems Kovar had a lot going on.
Despite this information, Kovar has still been suspended by CBS pending an internal investigation. There are still accusations of the anchor being intoxicated while performing weekend reports.
Kovar, for her part, isn’t waiting.
She’s decided to not renew her contract at the end of the month. To that end, it’s agreed she will remain off air until the contract has run out.
