Oops! WGN Anchor Refers to Chicago's Christkindlmarket as 'Kristallnacht' Viewers stunned by mention of Nazi riot
It's good to know that people still say really dumb things out loud and not just on Twitter. On Sunday night, WGN-TV anchor Robert Jordan apparently made a spectacular flub when he referred to Christkindlmarket, Chicago's German holiday market, as "Kristallnacht." The latter was the 1938 Nazi riot that destroyed thousands of Jewish businesses and synagogues. Several tweets quickly popped up from astute viewers, with one noting: "Tell me someone else heard that. Or actually don't." I learned about it from a friend on Facebook, who said she wasn't paying close attention until her ears perked up at the unintentional reference to one of history's most notorious pogroms. She wrote: "I think he was trying to say that the weather was nice today for the Christkindlmarket, probably some banter on our unseasonably warm weather. You could tell he was struggling to come up with the correct name, and then, doh!" Of course, it was a honest mistake, one that shouldn't require any apology or (further) public shaming. Plus, who can hold a grudge against a guy who has these kinds of moves off camera?
UPDATE: Here's WGN's response.
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