Morning news host mistakenly outed as gay on live TV in a moment so awkward it’s impossible to look away
The AM Show host Ryan Bridge was outed as gay by co-host Mark Richardson on live television (The AM Show)
A morning news host on New Zealand’s The AM Show was accidentally outed as gay by a co-host – and the moment was unbearably awkward.
Ryan Bridge, who is currently filling in as host on the show, was accidentally outed when his co-presenter Mark Richardson threw in a joke referencing his sexuality on Thursday morning.
They were discussing collector’s items when a third host, Amanda Gillies, asked Bridge if he collects anything himself, Newshub reports.
The AM Show co-host outed Ryan Bridge with joke about ‘ex-boyfriends’.
Richardson then jumped in and said Bridge collects “ex-boyfriends” – a joke that might have gone down better if Bridge had ever been open about his sexuality publicly before.
After an awkward pause, Bridge said: “Yes, it’s true, I’m gay. There we go, it’s out there.”
He continued: “God that was awkward,” before moving to the sports bulletin.
Later in the show, Bridge addressed the moment, saying he has not “tried to hide” his sexuality.
It wasn’t like he was being mean or he was trying to get me to say something I didn’t want to say, it was an innocent, honest mistake.
“It’s something that all my friends and family have known about for a very long time,” Bridge explained.
“The reason I haven’t chosen to share it with you at home, with listeners on my radio show, is just that – I don’t know, it’s not that interesting really, is it? – and it’s sort of just my private business and my life and not something that I necessarily tried to hide, but it’s just not something that I’ve really bothered or cared to share with the world, with you at home.
“But it’s out there, so that is that,” he said.
Outing did not happen ‘on purpose’.
He also said his co-host had not outed him on purpose.
“It wasn’t like he was being mean or he was trying to get me to say something I didn’t want to say, it was an innocent, honest mistake.”
Richardson then told Bridge that it was the worst he had felt about anything in his three years on the job.
“I say a lot of stuff on the show, and I mean it, and some of it walks the line, and I just want to say I’m sorry because I know how you feel about this.
“It’s because obviously I love you so much as a person that this sort of stuff means absolutely nothing to me as it does with anyone else, it’s not an issue, and just me being a smart arse trying to poke fun at you for a comedic moment on the show has led to this and I’m dreadfully sorry.”
Bridge told him that he has “nothing to be sorry about”.
