Getting caught saying something a little out of pocket can happen to the best of us. Especially to those who are professional speakers.
Yes, it can even happen to CBS’s James Brown, a broadcasting veteran with over five decades of experience. After the NFL on CBS delivered its halftime report introduction on Sunday, the studio host seemingly didn’t realize he was back live on camera in front of the entire country. Because if he did, he probably wouldn’t have accidentally referred to himself as “big chocolate head” with everyone watching.
To Brown’s credit, he realized his mistake immediately and smoothly played off the hilarious hot mic snafu like a true pro:
James Brown can thank Nate Burleson for his nickname pic.twitter.com/dgAUKaIqXL
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 6, 2023
How fantastic. Rather than pretend he never said it, Brown showed off a great sense of humor, weaving in his apparent nickname in his welcome to CBS’s spectating audience. That’s a guy who’s been around the broadcasting block and knows that these missteps aren’t necessarily rare.
This was how Twitter reacted to Brown's "big chocolate" hot mic moment
James Brown just got caught referring to himself as "Big Chocolate" because he didn't know they were live & I'm pretty sure I'm gonna open the show Monday calling myself "Big Vanilla."
— 𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℝ𝕠𝕓 𝔹𝕣𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝕊𝕙𝕠𝕨 (@TheRobBrownShow) November 5, 2023
Did James Brown just say "big chocolate head" live on TV?
— SFL Commissioner (@sflone) November 5, 2023
Wait. Did James Brown just call himself Big Chocolate? YO, what a legend!
— #BEARSFOOTBALL (@TheJeffSchlegel) November 5, 2023
James Brown not knowing they're on the air and calling himself Big chocolate 😂😂😂
— Julian (@JulianJay1988) November 5, 2023
James Brown calling himself Big Chocolate was the content we needed.
🤣
— AJ Shaw 🇺🇲 (@RealShawFather) November 5, 2023
This was very funny but let’s get the nomenclature right. Big Chocolate HEAD is what James Brown calls himself, apparently https://t.co/BcBGqsTAbv
— Noah Austin (@noah_austin) November 5, 2023
Please tell me everyone else just heard James Brown refer to himself as ‘Big Chocolate’ live on TV? 😂😂 #AZvCLE
— Dan (@Dan1290_) November 5, 2023
Amazing moment here… James Brown caught with a hot mic 🎙 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/gEVtKzwMWx
— Paul D (@PaulOnAir) November 5, 2023
Put this in the Louvre…. https://t.co/4fjy1JLL3N
— Chris Schmidbauer (@CSchmid01) November 5, 2023