Hannah Cormier, the Los Angeles Clippers' in-arena host, is denying she let one rip during Wednesday's nationally mocked broadcast moment, insisting the sound that sent social media into a frenzy was added by whoever posted the clip. The viral moment unfolded during the Clippers' 103-87 loss to the Lakers, a game that dropped Los Angeles to 1-3 on the young season.
A Walk-Off Moment Turns Into a Meme
The drama traces back to a stretch of the broadcast when Cormier was on camera and appeared not to realize the feed was live, according to Yahoo Sports. As she walked away, the hot microphone picked up a sound that, in the outlet's words, sounded conspicuously like a fart. The clip spread fast, racking up more than 390,000 views in about 10 hours after it was posted to X, per the same report.
Online reaction split almost immediately. Some viewers were convinced they had heard Cormier pass gas on a live mic, while others argued the noise was nothing more than microphone static or some other stray sound the equipment picked up, the outlet notes. The uncertainty only fueled the clip's spread, turning a split-second audio blip into a full-blown internet debate.
Cormier Responds Directly
Cormier posted an Instagram video addressing the clip and the press coverage that followed, according to New York Post. In it, she said she did not fart and maintained her innocence, telling viewers that whoever posted the viral video had actually created the fart sound themselves and added it to the clip after the fact, per the same report. She also pointed out the irony of the backlash, saying the sound resembled a whoopee-cushion fart and that denying it had somehow made her look more guilty.
Cormier is no stranger to the Clippers' in-arena spotlight. Yahoo Sports reported she is entering her 11th season with the organization and her seventh as the team's in-arena host and MC. The Clippers' own team website, however, lists her tenure differently, stating she is entering her fifth season as part of Clipper Nation and her second as the in-arena host, according to the Los Angeles Clippers.
A Rough Night on the Court, Too
The game itself gave Clippers fans plenty to be frustrated about even before the audio mystery took over social feeds. Los Angeles fell 103-87 to its crosstown rival at Intuit Dome, and the team struggled badly on offense, committing 24 turnovers in the loss, according to tmspn.com.
The episode isn't the first time a hot microphone has embarrassed an NBA broadcast team this year. Last month, a similar mishap involving Sacramento Kings reporters made headlines after an off-air conversation about NBA players was accidentally broadcast, per tmspn.com's report. Whether the Clippers incident fades as quickly as that one remains to be seen, but for now, Cormier's explanation is the only account on record of what actually happened as she walked off camera.
