Danika Mason has revealed the ordeal she went through after her viral live standup at the Winter Olympics.
The Australian TV star became the headlines she usually reports on after slurring her words during a segment live on air.
She went viral worldwide as she lost focus on the Olympics and instead discussed coffee prices with hosts Karl Stefanovic and Jayne Azzorpardi on the “Today” show.
And despite receiving support from a number of sources, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Mason admitting the fallout was difficult to deal with.
“I obviously knew straight away I had screwed up,” she told Triple M Rocks Footy NRL.
“The next 24 hours I was just in a spiral. I was just thinking the world’s worst — well this is my job gone, this is this gone.
“The rugby league community that was calling me was insane. I remember Joey — Andrew Johns — he rings me and Kate, his wife, is in the background, he’s like ‘even Kate found it funny’ and I was like ‘oh God’. He was incredible, he kept FaceTiming, checking in. [But] I can’t watch it back.”
Mason is able to laugh about the incident after issuing a public apology, and she revealed she also had help from another key supporter — Karl Stefanovic.
“He was great,” Mason added. “He rang me and talked me through and said ‘what are you going to do?’
“I said ‘I’m going to come out and apologise, you can’t take people for fools’ and he was like ‘perfect, we’ll be here for you’.”
Mason’s apology came shortly after, while live on air still at the Olympics.
“And guys, just before we do go, I just want to take a moment, if that’s okay, just to apologise,” she said.
“I also wanted to thank everyone who has reached out. I’m just a little bit embarrassed. I totally misjudged a situation. I shouldn’t have had a drink, and 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 that I set for myself. So in saying that, I’m really sorry… and I’m grateful for those messages that I have received as well.”
