Ana Rosa Quintana Loses Composure Live On Air After Reporter Attacked

The Friday edition of the “AR” program on Telecinco began with an unexpected surge of tension. Host Ana Rosa Quintana established a live connection with her special correspondent in Israel, Marcos Méndez, to get the latest updates on the situation with the “Freedom Flotilla.” However, what was supposed to be a routine report quickly turned into an extremely awkward scene when an unidentified man began shouting insults at the journalist, preventing him from doing his job.

Marcos Méndez started his segment as usual, but within seconds his report was interrupted by loud shouting. The reporter tried to continue, ignoring the disruption, but the noise only grew more persistent and louder. “Sorry, someone is yelling at me here,” he explained on air, at the same time addressing the troublemakers in English, asking them to let him work. Far from stopping, the shouting escalated, forcing Marcos to pause again in an attempt to reason with the aggressor, but without success. “Excuse me, Ana Rosa, one moment,” said a flustered Méndez.

In the studio, the visibly puzzled anchor tried to find out what had happened. “What’s wrong with him?” she asked loudly, referring to the shouting man. The special correspondent, with a hint of fatalism in his voice, described the situation: “This is something we encounter in Israel all the time. Journalists here are, to put it mildly, not welcome.” Ana Rosa tried to reassure him, noting that this was not the first time something like this had happened to their program. “Don’t worry, we’re used to this happening,” she said, while Mendes added: “He’s sending us home.”

Despite every effort to resume the report, the broadcast had to be cut, and a noticeable discontent settled in the studio. After this brief and disrupted live segment, Ana Rosa did not hide her frustration with the man who disrupted the airing. “That guy has such a squeaky, unpleasant voice,” she remarked, clearly referring to the attacker and not her colleague. But she didn’t stop there. Defending her coworker and freedom of expression, the anchor raised her voice: “Marcos, thank you so much. I’m sorry you had such a hard time, and that these thugs—I don’t care where they’re from—oppose freedom of speech.”

The highlight was a phrase that stunned viewers with its bluntness and harshness, something completely uncharacteristic for the usually reserved TV host. Ana Rosa Quintana, unrestrained in front of the cameras, exclaimed: “Y a estos imbéciles y tontos, que los hay en todas partes, ¿no hay cerca ningún policía o militar que le diga: ‘Oye, imbécil, cállate ya’?”. Such an emotional outburst came as a surprise, showing that even the most experienced professionals have their limit, especially when facing attacks on their own in such a tense situation as in Jerusalem.