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NBC4 Washington's news anchor Leon Harris sparked health concerns after appearing to struggle to enunciate his words during a live broadcast on Friday night. The 63-year-old took multiple pauses between his words, some of which came out incoherent.
Following Leon Harris' broadcast, several concerned netizens took to X and asked NBC4 Washington to check on him. Podcaster Lee Sanders wrote on November 29:
"Pray he hasn’t relapsed again or dealing w/ addiction off of that foot injury. Pull him & get him some help! He looks unkept & struggles to read. I know the signs folks, he is dealing w/ sum form of alcohol/substance abuse"
One X user commented that Leon Harris's usual appearance is more organized than how he looked in the broadcast. They pointed out his tie was not properly placed and said he needed a shave, wondering:
"Why did they put him on the air looking like this"
Multiple people speculated that Leon was likely having a stroke as he continued reporting.
"He can have all the substance issues he wants but he looks like he’s suffering from a stroke. Ugh I wish him well," said one X user.
"Look at the left side of his face people, you can see it’s drooping around his eye and his mouth. He is beginning to have a stroke. It’s painfully obvious. Dear God, I hope he got medical attention quickly," another chimed in.
Several netizens expressed their opinions on the platform.
"Why did they put him on the air in that condition?" another resonated.
"It looks like a stroke. The left side of his face is starting to droop. I hope he is okay," noted one more person.
"that’s not substance use. that looks like a TIA/stroke," commented another.
Leon Harris stutters several times during Friday night's broadcast
While reporting on a water main break on Rhode Island Avenue in Washington, DC, Leon Harris stumbled over his words as he read the location, 2nd Street on Northeast Road.
Next, he addressed a report about multiple suspects facing vandalism charges for an incident at the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) building. Leon stuttered while pronouncing "vandalizing" and again as he uttered "Israel." He reported that five people were caught spray-painting on the building property.
However, the broadcaster seemingly struggled with grammatical coherence, mixing up verbs and tenses several times. While conveying that the D.C. Police were investigating the AIPAC incident and did not believe it was a potential hate crime, Leon initially insinuated the opposite but corrected himself right after.
During a weather forecast, meteorologist Ryan Miller addressed viewers' concerns about Leon's health and assured them:
"We want to assure you that our colleague Leon Harris is fine."
In 2022, Leon Harris was arrested on DUI charges after crashing his car into another vehicle and trying to escape the scene. He spent 10 days in jail at the time. In a later statement, he expressed regret over his actions and accepted his fault.
