CNN primetime anchor Anderson Cooper told off a man who followed him into CNN’s New York headquarters and heckled him over advertisements.
In a video shared on TikTok, Cooper can be seen walking through the doors of CNN’s headquarters in New York. The man recording the footage follows Cooper through a rotating door while complaining about the newsman’s latest 60 Minutes piece.
The man asked Cooper why he agreed to run "infomercials" for the manufacturers of eVTOLs, which are electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft.
The "infomercial" was actually a group of business profiles Cooper did for 60 Minutes last year focused on emerging aviation markets.
Cooper goes on a test flight in an air taxi as part of the package. After the flight he claimed he just wanted to "like, take off with it."
The man heckling Cooper interpreted scenes like these to mean the anchor was shilling to the aviation companies he was profiling.
"Did you have investments in Joby, Wisk, or Lyft?" the man asks Cooper.
For the majority of their interaction, Cooper ignores the heckler and continues walking toward his destination. That dynamic shifts when the pair have to pass through an interior rotating door.
Cooper walks into the rotating door and the heckler tries to follow him, appearing to press himself against the anchor in order to fit in the small space. That’s when Cooper gets mad.
"What the f*** are you doing?" Cooper asks, turning to acknowledge the heckler for the first time in the encounter. "Get the f*** away from me."
The heckler apologises to Cooper but continues to follow him through the halls, prompting the anchor to again say "No, get the f*** away from me. "
Eventually, Cooper reaches a secured entryway into CNN’s offices and manages to shake the heckler. The man recording the video asks once again if Cooper owned any stock in the aviation companies he covered. Cooper shoots the man a glance and shakes his head no as he walks into the secured area.
