Viewers were left stunned on Monday when a magnitude 4.4 earthquake shook ESPN’s Los Angeles studio during a broadcast of NBA Today.
Host Malika Andrews, who was interviewing basketball analyst Rebecca Lobo when the tremor hit, was remarkably unfazed throughout.
That was despite the quake being powerful enough to shake the building and rattle the camera.
ESPN Los Angeles studio shaking from an earthquake during NBA Today and Malika Andrews handled it like a pro. pic.twitter.com/KPGndlCx01
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 12, 2024
“We have a bit of an earthquake here in Los Angeles,” she said calmly as the tremors started. “So we’re just going to make sure that our studio lights… everything stays safe. Everything’s shaking.”
After checking in with her producers, Andrews told viewers: “Thank you so much for bearing with us through that, our studio was shaking just a little bit.”
Following the show, Andrews tweeted: “Definitely a scary moment here in our LA studios. Thank you to our incredible staff and crew who stayed cool throughout! Stay safe, fellow Angelenos.”
Andrews’ incredible handling of the situation also won her plenty of fans on social media:
Malika Andrews just handled an earthquake on live TV like I swat flies. That was wild. pic.twitter.com/Nx3jOcHUHQ
— Noah Coslov (@NoahCoslov) August 12, 2024
When I go on TV, I trip over my words when a producer talks in my ear. @malika_andrews has a literal earthquake happen while on air and doesn’t even flinch. Unreal. https://t.co/tHGh5Ug6Q4
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) August 12, 2024
Malika Andrews that’s exactly how you handle your Black job sis 👏🏽#MalikaAndrews #NBA #Earthquake #ESPN pic.twitter.com/ucDiNwK1JO
— Chris (@RealDealChris) August 12, 2024
@malika_andrews handled the earthquake like a pro live on air https://t.co/VhybDS7cvz
— stan verrett (@stanverrett) August 12, 2024
There was just an earthquake in LA during this segment on ESPN and WOW Malika Andrews handled it extremely well!
No way I would have been that calm 😂 pic.twitter.com/c7BChawx8C
— EverythingKnicks (@EverythinKnicks) August 12, 2024
Malika Andrews stays calm during an earthquake in LA and her first priority is to make sure everyone is safe and okay ❤️
— Women Posting W’s (@womenpostingws) August 12, 2024
Damn she was so calm and smooth I would have been screaming Chris Tucker style😭😭😭
— Danielle – bad decisions & baseball ⚾ (@danielleRoyalKC) August 12, 2024
Her composure level is next level
— Dr. Rajpal Brar, DPT (@3cbPerformance) August 12, 2024