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Louise Thomas
Editor
Maryam Moshiri has left BBC News viewers in hysterics after making a Snoop Dogg joke live on air during the channel’s coverage of the Paris Olympics.
The BBC presenter, 47, who once went viral for flipping the middle finger during a broadcast, injected some humour into the afternoon news with a reference to the “Who Am I” rapper, 52.
Moshiri had been narrating footage of Snoop Dogg carrying the Olympic flame in the torch relay ahead of the opening ceremony later this evening when she made the gag.
As the BBC’s video clips showed Snoop Dogg running in a pair of gold trainers on a short leg around the Stade de France, Moshiri said: “Luckily, whilst he was carrying the torch he didn’t drop like it’s hot, drop it like it’s hot,’ in reference to the rapper’s hit 2004 single.
After giggling to herself, the presenter noticed silence in the studio around her. “Sorry, am I the only one laughing at my joke?” she asked. “Clearly. Ok. Fine. Thank you very much.
“I had deadly silence in my ear at that,” she added.
Moshiri begged viewers not to change channels after her attempt at humour. “No rapping included for the rest of the day I can assure you,” she said. “Stay with us here on BBC News. Please don’t leave.”
Viewers on X/Twitter praised Moshiri for the quip. “She’s a bloody legend,” one person wrote, while another fan added: “This woman is an absolute icon.”
Following the online praise, Moshiri gave credit to her fellow BBC journalist Dominic Johnson who had written the joke into her script, adding the Snoop Dogg reference “had to be done”.
Local mayor Mathieu Hanotin announced earlier in the week that Snoop Dogg would be part of the Olympic torch relay.
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Snoop (real name Calvin Broadus Jr) expressed his gratitude at the opportunity in an interview on Wednesday, saying: “I look at this as a prestigious honour and something I truly respect. I would have never dreamed of nothing like this.”
He continued: “I’m going to be on my best behaviour. I’m going to be on my best athleticism. I’ll be able to breathe slowly, walk fast and hold the torch with a smile on my face, because I realise how prestigious this event is.”
