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Credit: Inside The MagicWe are nearing the one-week mark since several devastating fires broke out in Los Angeles, California. The largest fire is the Pacific Palisades Fire, which is currently sitting at more than 23,000 acres and is at 14% containment. The more inland Eaton Fire is burning at more than 14,000 acres but is 33% contained.
According to reports, more than 13,000 structures have been destroyed in the fires, nearly 200,000 residents have had to evacuate — although some have since been able to return –, and the death toll is currently at 24, but it is expected to climb.
Related: Disney Star Faces Backlash For Sharing GoFundMe During LA Fires
Well-known anchors from nearly every major news network have headed to Los Angeles to report the most up-to-date information on the wildfires. However, one anchor is making headlines not for his reporting, but for his clothing.
David Muir has been a key player at ABC News for more than 20 years, anchoring several news programs, including World News Now, 20/20, and World News Tonight.
He has traveled around the world, reporting on some of the biggest stories of our time, including Hurricane Katrina, Israel’s war with Hezbollah, the BP oil spill, the tragic earthquake in Haiti, the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
He also moderated one of 2024’s Presidential debates between Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
Mr. Muir recently traveled to Los Angeles and has been reporting on the havoc the fires are wreaking on multiple Southern California communities. Entire towns have burnt to the ground, and many residents still aren’t able to return to see if there is anything they can salvage.
Sadly, Muir has recently been the subject of social media fodder, but not for poor reporting. Instead, he is being attacked for something viewers noticed on his clothing.
X (formerly Twitter) user Jack Osborne called Muir out for having a clothespin that was seen fighting the flame-retardant jacket the news anchor was wearing.
Nice Jacket Bro. Glad you look nice and svelte with those clothes line pegs, while our city burns to the ground.
Nice Jacket Bro. Glad you look nice and svelte with those clothes line pegs, while our city burns to the ground. @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/bGQ3zvF6lr
— Jack Osbourne (@JackOsbourne) January 9, 2025
Related: Disney Wildfires Update: $15 Million Pledged as Cast Members Devastated by Blazes
While some commenters agreed that it was a bad look and accused Mr. Muir of being a narcissist, a majority of commenters called out Jack for focusing on Muir’s clothing instead of the catastrophic fires.
They also said that there were multiple reasons the jacket could have been pinned back. The biggest reason to pin the jacket back was the wind.
The Santa Ana winds have been in the news for being the reason the fires spread so quickly. If the winds were whipping around Mr. Muir’s jacket, it would have interfered with the microphone he had to wear.
My God, the state of rightwing media today is a joke. We’re now on day two – TWO! – of a nonstory about David Muir using a clothespin to keep his jacket tight, assuredly so that his loose jacket wouldn’t interfere with his lav mic in the intense winds.
My God, the state of rightwing media today is a joke. We’re now on day two – TWO! – of a nonstory about David Muir using a clothespin to keep his jacket tight, assuredly so that his loose jacket wouldn’t interfere with his lav mic in the intense winds. pic.twitter.com/Dg4tuTBAlm
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) January 10, 2025
Related: Disneyland Wildfires Update: Resort Offers Discounted Sanctuary to Cast Members
Page Six reportedly spoke to an insider who claimed that ABC was “humiliated” by the gaffe and said that the popular news anchor has always been a bit of a narcissist.
We’re told people at the network were “embarrassed and horrified” by the gaffe. Multiple insiders pointed to Muir’s Instagram account, which features the physically fit newsman regularly broodily mugging in form-fitting T-shirts with extra-short sleeves that show off his physique.
But sources also told us that the fashion-world move of cinching a jacket is par for the course for one of ABC’s leading men.
A source told Page Six of the anchor: “His narcissism is quite large in the sense of this kind of thing. I like David, except for this part of him. Anderson [Cooper], [Chris] Cuomo wear all the [muscle shirts], but they would never wear this [during a wildfire].”
However, former ABC News reporters defended Mr. Muir, but did admit it was not a good look.
Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes, who were fired after news of their illicit affair made headlines, said that Mr. Muir might not have even noticed the clothespin had been placed there.
“The perspective might be missing if you’re just reading tweets. The perspective might be missing in that, often times – and I don’t know if he does – travel with a producer or even a wardrobe person whose job is – you might be looking at your phone, getting the latest, looking at notes or doing something, and people are pulling and plugging things onto you, the mic and the IFB [in-ear monitor] and all these things. You don’t even know what’s happening to you, and someone could’ve made the decision of ‘Let me do this with the jacket.’ We don’t know.”
Thousands of firefighters from multiple states, Mexico, and Canada are still battling two major fires: the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire. While they were able to make progress over the weekend, the Santa Ana winds are expected to pick up, making the blazes an uphill battle.
We do not know how long it will take to get these devastating fires under control.
If you would like to help those impacted by the wildfires, here are just several places accepting donations.
California Fire Foundation Wildfire & Disaster Relief Fund: https://www.cafirefoundation.org/what-we-do/for-communities/disaster-relief
California Community Foundation: https://www.calfund.org/funds/wildfire-recovery-fund/
World Central Kitchen World Central Kitchen: https://donate.wck.org/give/499865/?_gl=1*1xkrdmj*_gcl_au*MTk5MDIxMzExMS4xNzM2Mzc0ODk2*_ga*ODkwNjgzOTc0LjE3MzYzNzQ4OTY.*_ga_5WKVY8503C*MTczNjM4MzQ3OS4yLjAuMTczNjM4MzQ4MC41OS4wLjA.#!/donation/checkout?c_src=navbar
Dream Center: https://dcf.dreamcenter.org/relief
Direct Relief: https://www.directrelief.org/emergency/california-wildfires/
The California Community Fund: https://www.calfund.org/funds/wildfire-recovery-fund/
Do you think it was ridiculous for people to focus on David Muir’s clothespin? Do you think it was simply a necessary item to aid in his reporting? Share your thoughts in the comments.