"Gotta make sure he looks buff during the catastrophe"— Internet calls out David Muir for wearing clothes pegs during LA fire coverage

Journalist David Muir, best known as the anchor of ABC World News Tonight, is being criticized for wearing wooden clothes pegs to seemingly keep his yellow ABC-issued flame retardant jacket cinched during the live coverage of the Los Angeles wildfires on January 8.

A 15-second video of Muir using clothespins was first shared by British-American conservative media personality Jack Osbourne on X. Osbourne’s post, which appeared to have been captured on his home television, was captioned:

“Nice Jacket Bro. Glad you look nice and svelte with those clothes line pegs, while our city burns to the ground @elonmusk.”

In the video, David Muir conducted a ground zero survey in Los Angeles, assessing the extent of damage from the blazes for ABC News. As he stood in the street in Pacific Palisades (one of the first and most widely affected places), he was heard uttering, “As you can see behind me… have been wiped away… there are still flames burning from multiple buildings here and smoke,” before his fashion faux was caught on live TV.

The clip soon garnered severe traction online, with Jack’s post earning 1.7 million views in less than 24 hours. It soon circulated across the platform and earned diverse reactions from netizens.

For instance, X user Kevin Kernahan, aka @cyclepath834, commented on Jon Levine’s video repost by making fun of David Muir.

“Gotta make sure he looks buff during the catastrophe,” the user wrote.

Many people joined the conversation and shared similar reactions on the platform.

“This make-up wearing mofo used clothes pins to pull in the fire jacket he’s wearing as a prop, so he would look snacky for TV,” a person wrote.

“Quick, interns- find a way to make this XL jacket that we stole from a firefighter fit me!” one person quipped.

“So, wait, do they just carry clothespins around with them in the event of a baggy apparel emergency?!” asked another.

Others continued to chime in and mock David Muir.

“OMG hilarious - what a tool - ah well it is Hollywood after all,” a netizen wrote.

“WHERE in the midst of this devastation did he get close pins? Was he like ‘Ah Yes! I have Close Pins!’...? And like whips them out of his super reporter travel pack? Or do firefighters keep them on hand...? I have so many questions,” another person wrote.

“He didn’t want to look fat,” an individual wrote.

“Welcome to ‘behind the scenes’ of the media machine. We’ve been watching the show from middle America for years,” wrote another.

Notably, news outlets often issue reporters the same standard-size jackets, and using clothes pegs is a basic styling technique in the industry.

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In brief, looking at the impacts of the Los Angeles fires amid the David Muir controversy

At the time of writing, Los Angeles County is experiencing multiple active and uncontrollable bushfires, including the Palisades Fire, Lidia Fire, Woodley Fire, Hurst Fire, Eaton Fire, and the most recent Sunset Fire, which started in the Hollywood Hills on January 8 evening.

Thousands of people, including celebrities like Paris Hilton and Adam Brody, have been reported to have lost their homes. Many, like Jamie Lee Curtis, Mandy Moore, and Maria Shriver, were forced to evacuate.

Several thousand acres of land have already been scorched, and the Santa Ana winds are threatening the spread of the fires until at least Friday. While firefighters are on the ground trying to combat the blazes, there has been zero containment, as per many sources, including Times Now.

Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in California, and President Joe Biden approved federal aid to tackle the crisis. Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump has held Newsom responsible for the slow and ineffective approach to crisis management, citing his disputed water reservation policy.

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David Muir is no stranger to criticism. During the September 2024 presidential election debate organized by the ABC, he was one of the moderators alongside Linsey Davis. Both faced backlash after they fact-checked and challenged now-President-elect Donald Trump more than his Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris.

David Muir has been in the news lately for his yearlong feud with fellow ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos.