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Celebs That Farted On Live TV

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Live television has a way of humbling even the biggest names in the room, and sometimes that humbling comes in the form of an unmistakable sound nobody can edit out.

Broadcast television runs on a delay of seconds, not minutes, which means there’s no fixing what a hot mic already caught. Over the years, a handful of TV personalities have found that out the hard way, producing audible — or apparently audible — flatulence during live segments watched by millions. Nicki Swift’s compilation “Celebs That Farted On Live TV” rounds up six of the most talked-about instances, from a Monday Night Football studio show to a live CNN interview about the Middle East.

• Mike Ditka’s October 2015 moment on ESPN’s “Monday Night Countdown” spawned the nickname “Fartgate,” which the former Bears coach flatly denied while telling reporters he didn’t care about the speculation.
• Whoopi Goldberg addressed her own on-air incident during a 2011 “The View” interview with Claire Danes, joking, “Excuse me, I think I just blew a little frog out of there!” — even after ABC claimed it was a sound effect.
• Regis Philbin kept a straight face and buttoned his jacket after an apparent slip on the November 14, 2006 episode of “Live with Regis and Kelly,” right as Kelly Ripa introduced a segment called “Kelly’s Thanksgiving Secrets Revealed.”

The Ditka Incident That Got a Nickname

Mike Ditka’s turn came during a live October 2015 broadcast of ESPN’s “Monday Night Countdown,” when the Hall of Fame coach appeared to lean slightly in his chair and let out an audible sound that immediately caught co-panelist Cris Carter’s attention. Carter’s reaction — the kind of amused, can’t-quite-hide-it look panelists get when something happens on live TV that isn’t in the rundown — was enough to send the clip circulating. The incident earned the tabloid-ready label “Fartgate,” and Ditka, never one to dodge a blunt answer, told reporters afterward he simply didn’t care what people were saying about it.

Whoopi Goldberg’s Frog Line

Whoopi Goldberg has never been shy about calling her own shots, and that held true when an accidental on-air expulsion happened during a 2011 episode of ABC’s “The View” while she was interviewing guest Claire Danes. Rather than let the moment sit awkwardly, Goldberg owned it on camera.

“Excuse me, I think I just blew a little frog out of there!”

ABC later maintained the noise was a sound effect and not an actual on-air incident, but Goldberg’s playful acknowledgment in the moment is what stuck with viewers — a reminder that on daytime live TV, the fastest way to defuse an awkward sound is to name it yourself before anyone else can.

Regis Philbin’s Poker Face

Talk-show co-hosts have long made a living off reacting to each other in real time, and Kelly Ripa got an unplanned assist on November 14, 2006. As Ripa introduced a segment titled “Kelly’s Thanksgiving Secrets Revealed” on “Live with Regis and Kelly,” Philbin appeared to break wind at the exact moment she was speaking. Ripa broke into giggles on air while Philbin, ever the professional, kept a straight face and calmly buttoned his jacket as if nothing had happened — a bit of live-TV composure that made the clip memorable years later, in the same vein as other unscripted TV blunders that have kept resurfacing online, including the kind of on-air slip-ups covered in performers who were caught lip syncing on live TV.

Dance Floor and News Desk Casualties

Not every incident happened in a studio chair. During a live October 2007 broadcast of “Dancing with the Stars,” professional dancer Julianne Hough experienced an audible slip backstage while waiting for scores alongside partner Hélio Castroneves. The moment sent her brother Derek Hough and fellow cast members into laughter that carried over the broadcast. Larry King had his own version on CNN’s “Larry King Live,” pausing mid-sentence during a live discussion about Middle East conflicts, leaning forward, and producing an audible noise before continuing the segment. British pop singer and TV judge Cheryl Cole rounded out the list after an on-air noise during a live broadcast, later telling media how difficult it is to prove your innocence once flatulence happens in front of an audience — a sentiment that puts her in the same camp as public figures who’ve had to manage an unscripted moment gone viral, a theme that runs through pieces like controversial celeb moments no one will forget.

Six different shows, six different networks, and one common thread: none of these moments were scripted, and none of them could be taken back once the broadcast aired. Fartgate remains the only one with an official nickname, and Ditka still isn’t apologizing for it.