Support The Moscow Times!

TV Anchor Fired for Finger Gesture

An anchor for the country’s leading independent TV channel was fired after making an obscene gesture when mentioning U.S. President Barack Obama in a live newscast, but insisted that it was meant for the crew, not him.

Tatyana Limanova, an award-winning journalist and host of a news show on the Ren-TV private channel, waved her middle finger when presenting last week a story about the APEC summit in the United States, a moment after mentioning Obama.

The video went viral on the Internet, with many viewers speculating the gesture had been meant to insult the U.S. president, who met his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev on the sidelines of the summit.

Limanova insisted Thursday that she was gesturing to the crew to raise the teleprompter higher, and called the story “a ridiculous incident,” RIA-Novosti reported.

“I’m very loyal toward President Barack Obama, and my gesture was in no way intended for the respected president of the United States,” said Limanova, who complained about the YouTube video garnering dozens of supportive comments from “racists.”

“I realize that I’ve failed the channel and possibly offended some of the viewers,” Limanova said, adding that she was undecided on her career plans.

Ren-TV is broadcast across Russia and the former Soviet Union. It is owned by tycoon Yury Kovalchuk, believed to be close to Russia’s paramount leader, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

But the channel is widely regarded as relatively free and unbiased in a country where the government has a tight grip on much of the media.

(Reuters, MT)

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysiss and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more