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Texas Anchor Amy Kushnir Throws Hilarious On-Air Temper Tantrum Over Michael Sam Kiss

The Broadcast co-host Amy Kushnir

No, it’s not an SNL skit. It’s the women of The Broadcast, a local Texas morning show, discussing “the gay athlete issue” on yesterday morning’s episode. And it’s unintentionally and unabashedly hilarious.

The panel couldn’t seem to agree on whether or not Michael Sam kissing his boyfriend on ESPN was appropriate.

One of the co-hosts, Courtney Kerr, spoke in defense of Sam, saying people who made homophobic comments against him were being “racist towards homosexuals”:

“Here’s the deal. It’s as racist as the Clippers — the Clippers — um — owner, is coming off. People that are making snarky comments about this guy being a homosexual and kissing his boyfriend… Those comments are just as racist. Making comments about that it’s gross to see two men kiss on ESPN. We have to see men kiss on NBC and on ABC and on HBO. What’s the difference? …It’s racist towards homosexuals.”

Um… Thanks for the support, but just to be clear, gay isn’t a race.

Co-hosts Suzie Humphries and Amy Kushnir weren’t having any of it.

“I’m shakin’ my head because people don’t have the right to express the way they feel if it offends somebody else,” Humphries hollered. “I live in America! I still feel like I have the right of freedom of speech. And I don’t have to be penalized for my own opinions. Especially in my own house. That I have that right as an American!”

Kushnir added: “This is the problem. You can’t say what you feel without bein’ persecuted if it doesn’t go along with mainstream.”

Things quickly unraveled from there.

“When parents do not have a choice as to whether or not they want their children to see [men kissing], that’s wrong!” Kushnir cried. “I don’t call it a moment of celebration… It’s being pushed in faces!”

When asked if it had a man and a woman kissing, would she still have taken issue with it, Kushnir, her face growing redder by the second, replied:

“I would’ve said, ‘Get a room! I don’t want to see that! I don’t want to see cake on your face kissin’ each other!'”

Evidently, she’s not a fan of public displays of affection of any sort. No kissing. No hand-holding. Gay. Straight. It doesn’t matter. She doesn’t want to see any of it. Ew. Gross.

“Here’s the thing: ESPN would not have aired any of it had he been kissin’ his wife,” Kushnir fumed. “Can we agree that this was an opportunity to make news?”

Then, like a true homophobe, she said: “He has every right to do what he wants. That is not my issue. I just don’t want to see it in my face!”

And with that, Kushnir promptly gathered her things and exited the studio, muttering something about “goin’ to Midland.”

UPDATE:

KTXD posted the following statement regarding the incident on the show’s Facebook page:

KTXD-TV started the The Broadcast in February 2013 as an opinion-based show. We selected five hosts who represent a subset of the vast, diverse community that we serve, and we encourage them on a daily basis to share their personal opinions on a variety of topics.

On Tuesday, May 13, that topic happened to be Michael Sam’s draft day kiss and the controversy it was generating. The debate between our four hosts that day got unusually heated and ended with one host – Amy Kushnir – leaving the set. Ms. Kushnir’s action was a signal of frustration on her part, as she felt she was unable to express her own views correctly.

While KTXD-TV neither supports nor condemns opinions shared by our hosts, we stand behind both The Broadcast and Ms. Kushnir. We wholeheartedly stand behind our hosts right to voice their opinions as an integral part of our program. We have clearly ruffled feathers, and in doing so we hope we have advanced the dialogue on this important issue.

 

Check out the full video below. (Fast forward to the 7:00 mark to see the really good stuff.)

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