A heated segment during Tuesday’s episode of Get Up immediately became lighthearted when Monica McNutt accidentally activated the balloons effect on her FaceTime app.
The incident in question occurred during a debate regarding Kyrie Irving following the Boston Celtics’ series-clinching victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. As McNutt — who was appearing on the show remotely — lifted both of her hands up to accentuate her point that this was Irving’s best chance to add a second NBA title to his resume, a flood of cartoon balloons flashed across her screen, much to the delight of Andraya Carter.
“Monica has balloons!” Carter alerted the rest of the Get Up crew that was in-studio, including Brian Windhorst, who dropped his face into his hands in a thinly veiled attempt to hide his laughter.
“She’s got balloons?” Jay Williams asked. “What?”
“I don’t know what’s going on here,” Mike Greenberg said. “May I try to reclaim control of the conversation? Brian Windhorst did not fly all the way back from Boston at 6 this morning to be involved in this insanity.”
A heated argument about Kyrie Irving on ‘Get Up’ was interrupted when Monica McNutt accidentally activated a flood of balloons on her FaceTime. pic.twitter.com/XRKUCFxGGu
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 18, 2024
One segment later, Greenberg brought clarity to the confusion, revealing the cause of McNutt’s surprise balloon barrage. The Get Up host even admitted that he had wondered whether it was his colleague’s birthday, as McNutt tested out some of the other FaceTime effects at her disposal.
Monica McNutt proceeded to try out some of the other FaceTime tricks on her phone. pic.twitter.com/i1gWOq1OMy
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 18, 2024
McNutt isn’t the first ESPN personality to activate her FaceTime effects while on air, as Chris “Mad Dog” Russo did the same during a segment on First Take this past December. And while it’s somewhat surprising that the Worldwide Leader in Sports relies on such a common app for its remote talent — or that said talent doesn’t always turn off their effects — the threat of surprise balloons does at least allow for the possibility of levity during the network’s more heated debates.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.