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New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Sen. John Kennedy, 73, clarifies why he froze up on live TV
Soundbite savant Sen. John Kennedy clarified that he didn't suffer a stroke or catch a sexually transmitted disease when he dramatically froze up mid-sentence live on air Tuesday during a Fox Business hit. The one-liner whiz fired back at lefty critics for speculating he suffered a medical scare after what looked like troubling footage of the 73-year-old growing stonefaced went viral on social media. 'Yesterday I was on your show. I enjoyed it. I was just yapping away, and all of a sudden, my earpiece blew up. This one — it sounded like a 747 was taking off,' Kennedy told host Larry Kudlow on Wednesday, motioning to his earpiece. 'Man, my ears are still ringing. Anyway, so I just, assumed we were off air. I just stopped talking, and I didn't start talking again until I could hear you.' A day prior, Kennedy had been discussing the Trump administration's crackdown on sanctuary cities, when suddenly he trailed off mid-sentence before staring blankly off to the side. 4 Sen. John Kennedy wants the world to know that he didn't get an STD live on TV. FOX 4 The Louisiana Republican is famous for his snappy one-liners. REUTERS 'Jesus loves them, but everybody else thinks …' the Louisiana senator riffed before mumbling quietly. 'Everybody else thinks,' he repeated, then turned blankly with his mouth agape. Kudlow then interjected at the time after several seconds of Kennedy looking blankly into the camera and cut him off, claiming there were 'technical problems.' 'That was the same mic we lost with Sen. Rand Paul,' Kudlow added. Paul (R-Ky.) had done an interview on his program before Kennedy and, at one point, complained mid-interview about losing his connection to the program. The Louisiana Republican later returned to the air Tuesday, about half a minute after the incident and was still mired by technical issues and trouble hearing Kudlow. Kudlow seemed to corroborate Kennedy's claim that there was a technical issue, stressing 'I think that's all that happened' and 'a lot of people are making conclusions about your health that they had no business making.' 4 Sen. John Kennedy ripped into coverage of what appeared to be a freeze-up of his live on television. AP 'I don't know, some of the rags up here have they've got all kind of stories that I had a brain freeze live on TV or a stroke or caught an STD live on television or something?' Kennedy quipped about the media speculation after the incident. 'I'm OK, I'm here. I'm back here today. I'm full of piss and vinegar.' When questioned about the incident, Kennedy's office sent a statement to The Post from the senator explaining 'there was a malfunction in my earpiece. 'I heard a loud screeching noise with a lot of static.' Before the clarification, speculation quickly swirled about Kennedy, and some observers drew comparisons to Sen. Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) repeated freeze-ups in the public eye. 4 Sen. Mitch McConnell had frozen up several times during the end of his time as Senate GOP leader. AP McConnell's team later chalked up the health scares to a concussion he suffered from a fall in March 2023. The former leader of the Senate GOP later announced that he would not be seeking reelection in 2026. Concerns about the health and vitality of lawmakers have been elevated over recent months. This year alone, three House Democrats died from illnesses or old age. Democrats in particular have been forced to reckon with former President Joe Biden's mental acuity amid a string of new revelations about the 82-year-old's condition.
Hamilton Spectator
2 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
MrBeast CEO and ‘Beast Games' winner rally brand partners and rare disease support on Wall Street
NEW YORK (AP) — MrBeast's new CEO hit Wall Street Wednesday as YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson's media empire looks to develop long-term brand partnerships and, in turn, unlock more funding for its charitable content. Venture capitalist Jeff Housenbold took over MrBeast leadership last summer with a mandate to professionalize an ever-growing entertainment company. YouTube's most popular creator had reached record audience levels far outpacing its startup days, while vowing to reassess its internal culture amid multiple controversies . But, despite joining Nasdaq's closing bell ceremony on Wednesday, Housenbold said their strategic plan does not currently include a public offering — or any active funding rounds. 'Do I want to make banger content? Yeah. That's cool,' Housenbold told The Associated Press. 'But what can we do with that banger content? Generate profits, make a sustainable business that gives us greater ability to impact people's lives around the world.' 'We're marching quickly to profitability, so we don't have to raise additional capital,' he added. Instead, MrBeast is focused on securing multi-year exclusive advertising deals as opposed to single-video brand partnerships. With 416 million subscribers and legions of impressionable young fans, Housenbold argued that MrBeast is uniquely positioned to deliver more bang for companies' marketing bucks by pointing that 'firehose of attention' at them. Along the way, Housenbold said he is encouraging Donaldson to tout the channel's charitable works — which often feature quantifiable stunts such as building wells, removing ocean plastic or covering cataract surgery costs. The company, in his view, 'can do good while doing well.' 'The more people who like us 'cause we do good, the more people watch our videos,' he said. 'The more people watch our videos, the more we're able to drive in fees from our advertising partners... the more we can invest in more content to do more good in the world.' New projects such as the Amazon Prime reality show and a James Patterson novel from HarperCollins aim to diversify the genders and ages of his audience. Housenbold said that base has historically consisted mostly of 8-to-25-year-olds and men. But Housenbold acknowledged missteps in last year's production of 'Beast Games,' which prompted allegations of 'unsafe' conditions from some contestants who said an unorganized set led to injuries, irregular food provision and lacking access to medication. While describing most of those reports as 'inaccurate,' Housenbold said they were 'better prepared' for the second season's recently wrapped shoot. 'Building sets for a 10-episode show is different than a 22-minute YouTube video,' he said. 'The scale, the size, the sophistication, the safety, the security, the cost effectiveness of doing that. We didn't staff up enough for 'Beast Games'.' Ringing Nasdaq's closing bell Wednesday with Housenbold was the winner of the $10 million grand prize awarded in that inaugural 'Beast Games' season. Jeffrey Allen, the father of a child with creatine transporter deficiency, has promised to put some of his winnings toward existing treatments and research for a cure to the rare genetic disorder. He said the Association for Creatine Deficiencies, where he is a board member, added 1,000 new donors in the weeks following the final 'Beast Games' episodes' release. He hopes Wednesday's visit will draw more attention and money to all rare diseases. 'This is where companies that are bringing true change to the marketplace come to listen to other companies,' Allen said. 'So, there's no better place for a budding rare disease nonprofit to come and show, 'Hey we're trying to change the world, too.'' ___ Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP's philanthropy coverage, visit .
The Hill
2 hours ago
- The Hill
MrBeast CEO and ‘Beast Games' winner rally brand partners and rare disease support on Wall Street
NEW YORK (AP) — MrBeast's new CEO hit Wall Street Wednesday as YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson's media empire looks to develop long-term brand partnerships and, in turn, unlock more funding for its charitable content. Venture capitalist Jeff Housenbold took over MrBeast leadership last summer with a mandate to professionalize an ever-growing entertainment company. YouTube's most popular creator had reached record audience levels far outpacing its startup days, while vowing to reassess its internal culture amid multiple controversies. But, despite joining Nasdaq's closing bell ceremony on Wednesday, Housenbold said their strategic plan does not currently include a public offering — or any active funding rounds. 'Do I want to make banger content? Yeah. That's cool,' Housenbold told The Associated Press. 'But what can we do with that banger content? Generate profits, make a sustainable business that gives us greater ability to impact people's lives around the world.' 'We're marching quickly to profitability, so we don't have to raise additional capital,' he added. Instead, MrBeast is focused on securing multi-year exclusive advertising deals as opposed to single-video brand partnerships. With 416 million subscribers and legions of impressionable young fans, Housenbold argued that MrBeast is uniquely positioned to deliver more bang for companies' marketing bucks by pointing that 'firehouse of attention' at them. Along the way, Housenbold said he is encouraging Donaldson to tout the channel's charitable works — which often feature quantifiable stunts such as building wells, removing ocean plastic or covering cataract surgery costs. The company, in his view, 'can do good while doing well.' 'The more people who like us 'cause we do good, the more people watch our videos,' he said. 'The more people watch our videos, the more we're able to drive in fees from our advertising partners… the more we can invest in more content to do more good in the world.' New projects such as the Amazon Prime reality show and a James Patterson novel from HarperCollins aim to diversify the genders and ages of his audience. Housenbold said that base has historically consisted mostly of 8-to-25-year-olds and men. But Housenbold acknowledged missteps in last year's production of 'Beast Games,' which prompted allegations of 'unsafe' conditions from some contestants who said an unorganized set led to injuries, irregular food provision and lacking access to medication. While describing most of those reports as 'inaccurate,' Housenbold said they were 'better prepared' for the second season's recently wrapped shoot. 'Building sets for a 10-episode show is different than a 22-minute YouTube video,' he said. 'The scale, the size, the sophistication, the safety, the security, the cost effectiveness of doing that. We didn't staff up enough for Beast Games.' Ringing Nasdaq's closing bell Wednesday with Housenbold was the winner of the $10 million grand prize awarded in that inaugural 'Beast Games' season. Jeffrey Allen, the father of a child with creatine transporter deficiency, has promised to put some of his winnings toward existing treatments and research for a cure to the rare genetic disorder. He said the Association for Creatine Deficiencies, where he is a board member, added 1,000 new donors in the weeks following the final 'Beast Games' episodes' release. He hopes Wednesday's visit will draw more attention and money to all rare diseases. 'This is where companies that are bringing true change to the marketplace come to listen to other companies,' Allen said. 'So, there's no better place for a budding rare disease nonprofit to come and show, 'Hey we're trying to change the world, too.'' ___ Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP's philanthropy coverage, visit
