CBS Anchor Heather Kovar was suspended from work after she engaged in bizarre behavior during Saturday’s broadcast.
Clips of Kovar’s 6:00 p.m. show circulated online Saturday and Sunday, showing the anchor looking slightly disheveled and slurring her words as she described the soaring heat waves across the country.
“These areas are reaching such areas,” Kovar said. “I mean, it’s Houston, Austin, San Antonio. I mean, they’re not expected, it has happened. Like, you don’t need us telling you that it’s bad. It’s like, like people are being told to like, stay inside.”
She then repeatedly gets the meteorologist’s name wrong. His name is Craig Gold, but Kovar called him Craig Adams several times, despite correcting herself on one of the occasions.
“Heather Kovar has been suspended pending our internal investigation. We have no further comment at this time,” vice president and general manager of the station, Robert Croteau, said in a statement released Sunday, according to the Times Union.
Viewers expressing concern over train wreck of local evening newscast out of Albany. Anchor Heather Kovar appeared disheveled, misspoke, and slurred her words for the entire newscast. Here, she tries to set up the weather and toss to the meteorologist, who’s name she gets wrong. pic.twitter.com/70jwwvykKt
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) July 10, 2022
Kovar works for CBS affiliate WRGB, which services the Albany, New York, area, according to the clip. She is an Emmy-winning anchor and reporter, according to her social media. (RELATED: We’re Proud Of You, Jake Tapper)
The anchor blamed her delivery on a combination of sleep deprivation and exhaustion, according to the Times Union. Kovar had returned early to work following family leave for her father’s death, the outlet continued.
“On Friday, I notified the station I would not be renewing my contract, which expires July 31. Saturday I was scheduled to work the early morning 6 a.m. shift and the evening shift. I was sleep-deprived and exhausted,” she told Times Union. She was meant to anchor the 11 p.m. show Saturday night, but the station brought in a weekday evening anchor to fill the slot, the outlet reported.
