Cooper began giggling after he made a joke about the clean-up crew being thankful Depardieu didn’t do a number-two on the airplane floor. His laughing fit lasted for more than 60 seconds, as seen in a video going viral across the Web. (The hysterical hilarity begins at 2:20).
“I’m sorry, this has actually never happened to me,” Cooper managed to say between giggles. His CNN crew were also be heard laughing with him in the background.
“That made me giggle every time I read it,” Cooper said earlier, referring to the joke about Depardieu’s bathroom habits. He cracked a smile and then the laughing fit overwhelmed the long-time CNN host. He regained his cool and continued with the report until the final pun-filled punchline. He breathed a sigh of relief before signing off.
This year has seen several news anchors fall into a laughing fit so thoroughly, they could barely escape. Albany, New York, newscaster Elisa Streeter broke down into wheezing chuckles after she reported on a baseball groundscrew staffer trapped under a rain tarp. Comcast SportsNet’s Chick Hernandez couldn’t stop laughing when his co-anchor said “Just swim for those balls.” And a Fox News anchor cracked up during a crime report on farting.
