Australian presenter apologises for drinking before slurred Olympics report

BBC World · Feb 19, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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2 hours agoHelen LivingstoneSydneyGettyDanika Mason is one of Australia's most prominent sports reportersAn Australian sports presenter has apologised after a clip of her slurring her way through a live cross from the Winter Olympics in Italy went viral, with even Australia's prime minister weighing in.Channel Nine reporter Danika Mason said she had "misjudged the situation" by drinking ahead of her appearance on live television, also blaming the altitude, the cold and her failure to eat dinner."I want to take full responsibility, it's not the standard I set myself," she said during another appearance a day later, adding that she was "embarrassed".Mason had stumbled over her words and talked about iguanas and the price of coffee as she reported on the day's sports events."Literally like the price of coffee over here is actually fine, it's more the price of coffee in the US that we're gonna have to get used to. I'm not sure about the iguanas, where are we going with that one?" she said during her cross to the breakfast television show Today on Wednesday, apparently in response to comments from the studio hosts.With glazed eyes she then stumbled through the rest of her sports report, mixing up her words as well as the UK and the US, while studio host Karl Stefanovic could be heard laughing in the background."Look the cold weather is a thing, right," Stevanovic said unprompted afterwards. "You can't actually move your lips."Social media clips of her report prompted mixed reactions from Australians. "Good on her, nothing wrong with this. You can tell she's having an absolute ball over there," said one person on X, while another commented: "If it's not a health issue, she should be sacked on the spot - very unprofessional."Mason, a prominent sports reporter best known for her National Rugby League coverage, appeared again on the Today show on Thursday morning.After she delivered her live report, she told viewers she wanted to "take a moment, if that's OK, just to apologise" for her previous appearance.She thanked viewers for messages of concern and continued: "I'm OK, probably just a little embarrassed. "Look, I totally misjudged the situation, I shouldn't have had a drink, especially in these conditions, it's cold, we've got altitude, and not having had dinner probably didn't help as well. But I want to take full responsibility, it's not the standard I set myself."So in saying that, I'm genuinely really sorry and I'm thanking everyone for those messages I've received as well."The Today show host Jenny Azzopardi responded saying "we know how hard you work, Danika" while Stefanovic called her a "legend".Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday he was was "pro-Danika"."Good on her. She's over in Italy and she would have been tired," he said adding: "It's the time difference, it would have been having an impact. Nothing to see here."