MSNBC correspondent Shaquille Brewster found himself battling far more than the elements during a recent report on Hurricane Ida.
While covering the effects of Hurricane Ida live from Gulfport, Missisippi Brewster found himself confronted by a White man who demanded Brewster report the news "accurately."
A Mississippi man just drove up to Shaquille Brewster's live shot and started screaming about covering the hurricane accuratelypic.twitter.com/kHG0omBVSJ— jordan (@jordan) 1630338653
Brewster was in the middle of reporting some good news in the wake of the damaging hurricane—mail delivery in Gulfport had resumed—when a white truck was seen pulling up behind Brewster.
The truck's driver, a White man, then emerged from from the truck and began running toward Brewster, who managed to remain calm and focused, even reporting on the "random person" running up behind him.
As the White man demanded they report news "accurately", Brewster calmly moved away saying "we deal with some people every once in a while."
But despite his best efforts to continue reporting on the damage Hurricane Ida brought to Gulfport, Brewster was distracted by the White man who could still be heard off camera yelling at Brewster and his camera man.
Finally, Brewster sent his report back to the news room and anchor Craig Melvin, declaring they had a "person who needs help right now."
But just before the camera cut back to Melvin, the White man was seen getting inches from Brewster's face, once again yelling "accurately," catching a visibly shocked Melvin completely off guard back in the newsroom.
"Hey! Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. Um, we're going to check in with Shaq Brewster just to make sure all is well."
"There's a lot of crazy out there."
Melvin would later report on air Brewster was "just fine", but would express his disgust over the incident on Twitter.
This is beyond unacceptable and disgusting. @shaqbrewster was trying to do his job on a beach in Gulfport, MS. Shaq is ok. This guy who nearly attacked him clearly is not.https://twitter.com/hopes_matt/status/1432364965382533125\u00a0\u2026— Craig Melvin (@Craig Melvin) 1630338020
Brewster also took to Twitter, confirming he and his team were fine, and thanking viewers for their concern.
Appreciate the concern guys. The team and I are all good!— Shaquille Brewster (@Shaquille Brewster) 1630337968
Brewster later went into slightly more detail on Instagram, admitting the situation was scary, but he and his team could jump right back to work and even laugh about it afterwards.
"Overwhelmed by the love and support today after what was definitely the wildest moment I've had on air."
"Our team joked about it afterwards, but it was without a doubt as scary for us as it was for you all watching."
"While that one report was interrupted, we were right back up in the next hour and will continue reporting as we are here to do.
Viewers and Twitter followers were shocked and unsettled by the video, with several claiming it was a documented instance of blatant racism.
Here's a white dude after a hurricane with nothing better to do than yell at a black man doing his job.https://twitter.com/justinbaragona/status/1432369554676752386\u00a0\u2026— Elie Mystal (@Elie Mystal) 1630339567
Another day of being Black in America.https://twitter.com/justinbaragona/status/1432369554676752386\u00a0\u2026— Franklin Leonard (@Franklin Leonard) 1630341671
Even his pickup is white— Thanks, Joe (@Thanks, Joe) 1630339058
For any non-white people, it's not only tough to land on any position but it's tougher to do the same job as white co-workers do. Meanwhile, he says he is ok.https://twitter.com/shaqbrewster/status/1432367373835702275?s=20\u00a0\u2026— Me Three (@Me Three) 1630340980
Others felt this man's anger and entitlement was one of the unfortunate repercussions of former President Donald Trump urging his supporters not to trust the media.
This fool was shouting anti-media epithets and telling @shaqbrewster to "report accurately," which is what Shaq was doing. All is well now.https://twitter.com/justinbaragona/status/1432369554676752386\u00a0\u2026— Brian Stelter (@Brian Stelter) 1630342796
Reporters doing the hard work of reporting live from a hurricane to give the pubic needed information are getting this? Insanehttps://twitter.com/justinbaragona/status/1432369554676752386\u00a0\u2026— Carla Marinucci (@Carla Marinucci) 1630342314
This sort of stuff is happening ALL THE TIME in America right now, but not in other countries \n\nIt's important that everyone think long and hard about the reasons why— Ghost of the Taco Bell dog (@Ghost of the Taco Bell dog) 1630339671
I am so sorry this happened to him. Journalists are coming under attack more frequently in this country. And it is truly disturbing. I worry about my colleagues every day. Sending hugs and prayers of safety.— Sandra Renrick (@Sandra Renrick) 1630338431
what do they think is not getting reported accurately about the hurricane and nascent recovery efforts? Did anyone find out? Or is this just general anti-journalism hysteria?— dr. jenn huff PhD (@dr. jenn huff PhD) 1630351854
Others applauded Brewster for remaining professional during such a scary situation.
Shout out to this reporter because I would\u2019ve been fighting this man live on MSNBC.https://twitter.com/justinbaragona/status/1432369554676752386\u00a0\u2026— Lil Uzi Hurt \ud83e\udd7a (@Lil Uzi Hurt \ud83e\udd7a) 1630341624
The poise and class we all saw from @shaqbrewster here is just who he is\u2014 on and off camera. So, so glad he\u2019s OK https://twitter.com/craigmelvin/status/1432367591486545922\u00a0\u2026— Ali Vitali (@Ali Vitali) 1630338316
Brewster also got a shout out from MSNBC's president Rashida Jones, who declared Brewster was an "exceptional journalist."
"Like the consummate professional, he did not let someone intimidate him from doing his job. We're glad he and the team are safe, and we couldn't be more proud and supportive of their work."
The White man in question has yet to be identified, nor is it certain if he will face any charges.
