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Reporter OK After Her Grammys Gibberish Sparks Rumor She Had a Stroke on Camera

Feb 14, 2011  •  Post A Comment

KCBS-TV reporter Serene Branson became the subject of backstage Grammys drama and Internet rumors after her jumbled speech while reporting live at the Grammys in Los Angeles sparked fears that she may have had a stroke while on camera. But CBS News reported today that the reporter is feeling fine and does not appear to have had a stroke.

The station said in a statement today that Branson was checked out by paramedics at the scene and was determined to be OK. “Her vital signs were normal. She was not hospitalized,” the statement said. “As a precautionary measure, a colleague gave her a ride home, and she says she is feeling fine this morning."

Branson’s slurred speech and gibberish were initially mocked when a video of her report was posted on the Web. Later accounts reported in error that Branson had suffered a stroke and was taken to the hospital.

In announcing that Branson is doing well today, CBS News said, “The reassuring news comes as a surprise to some, given the worrisome nature of Branson’s inability to articulate real words. She started her report by saying, ‘A very heavy blurtation tonight,’ before her speech devolved into complete gibberish.”

Dr. John Krakauer, an associate professor of neurology and neuroscience at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, expressed surprise that she was not taken to the hospital. “Frankly, I would have admitted her,” he said, adding that the reporter may have experienced a transient ischemic attack, or TIA, described as a “mini-stroke” that causes only temporary problems.

Click here to see the video of Branson’s Grammys report.

6 Comments

  1. I was amazed at the nastiness in which this spread this morning on the internet. I first saw it as a link on Funny or Die. If this had been more serious and she had died, how funny would have it been.
    On the surface, the clip is indeed funny and the reporter might look back on it and shake her head at the moment, but I just hope people would take just one moment to understand the context of what is really happening before making a joke out of everything on the internet.
    This World Wide Web is a wonderful source of entertainment and information, but sadly, it is turned many into mean and nasty voyeurs of people enduring hardships.
    Sadly, it is what most of our “customers” have turned into.

  2. On the surface the clip is funny Jon. Totally understand how people would laugh at this. What’s more sad is the statement in the article where no one took this woman to the hospital. You don’t watch this happen and as newspeople at CBS2 not take this woman straight to the ER. That’s what doesn’t seem to make sense in this whole story. Let’s not put the people who laughed on trial but let’s put some sort of responsibility on the people running CBS2. She should not return to work until she is given the OK by professionals but her bosses should be the ones pushing her for medical follow-up. After what we all saw, sending her home to feel better the next day is really stupid.

  3. The last I heard doctors think she may have had a TIA, which can often be a precursor to a future stroke.

  4. I’m sorry, that sure as hell looked like a stroke to me! Classic aphasia. Looked like she had some right-side facial drooping as well. That woman needs an MRI done yesterday!

  5. ..also – the paramedics had no business making, what essentially is, a diagnosis that she was fine. Based on what? Vital signs and flashlight? Just shameful negligence all around.

  6. The Grammys are making the news
    Because Arcade Fire and Muse
    Performed with panache
    And strobes with such flash
    Serene Branson’s brain blew a fuse.
    News Short n’ Sweet by JFD8
    http://twitter.com/JFD8

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