The silence was deafening, the tension got heated, and the video went viral.
An awkward on-air exchange between two television hosts in Namibia has now been shared on social media timelines around the world.
The uncomfortable incident happened when news anchor Elmarie Kapunda, of the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation network (NBC), turned to her colleague Jessica Kaimu, who was going to present a sports segment.
It didn’t go well.
After Kapunda turns to face her colleague for more information on an upcoming fight in Ukraine, Kaimu looks at her, visibly upset, and speaks her mind.
“No, you’re not going to do that. You’re just going to greet me, and say, ‘Take it away,'” she said.
“Jessica, we are live,” Kapunda responds — leading to an excruciating moment of silence between the two.
The incident lasts for a few seconds, while both presenters shoot stares at each other, incredulously, until the tension is broken by the show’s producers, who cut to a break.
Lazarus Jacobs, the chairperson of the NBC’s board, explained the situation to CNN.
“Unfortunately for the sports presenter, I don’t know what happened in her earpiece, (but) she did not realize she was on air. What people heard and saw was something that was supposed to happen behind the scenes,” he said.
Jacobs added that the two women would not be removed from their positions. They are “good colleagues” who later had a “laugh about it.”
They’ve also agreed to take part in an on-air training.
“I personally spoke to the two ladies to reassure them their job security is not in jeopardy. This was an honest mistake, it could happen to anybody,” he said.
Job security or not, the cringe-inducing episode has led the phrase “Jessica, we are live” to trend in Namibia, South Africa and beyond.
And the moment has quickly turned into viral meme material. It was even re-created by a pair of presenters on a South African news show.