The devastating wrath of Hurricane Ida left two residents of New Orleans assessing the damage to one of their homes live on CNN – and it’s likely that the last thing one of them would have had on their minds, at that precise moment, was a marriage proposal.
That’s exactly what happened to one man named Daniel who was talking to Gary Tuchman on AC360 on Monday night about the damage done to his neighbour Dart Sowell’s home.
With the wreckage of the home behind them, Tuchman thought it was an appropriate time to make a joke about Daniel potentially proposing to his other half after he had mistakenly referred to her as Daniel’s wife.
“Daniel was in his house right next door with his wife,” Tuchman started to say before Daniel cut him off to clarify that she was only his girlfriend, adding: “Don’t get me in trouble.”
Bizarrely, Tuchman then pivots to asking Daniel more personal questions about his relationship. “Oh, girlfriend, I’m sorry,” he says, before asking: “Are you ready to propose?”
Daniel looks stunned by the question and struggles to come up with a response before Tuchman yells: “Got him there. See, we are trying to have a good time while we are here too.”
Fortunately for the CNN reporter, the joke didn’t seem to offend the two men that much, despite the gravity of the situation around them.
As it turns out, Sowell was actually in the house when Hurricane Ida hit and fell from the second floor to the bottom of the house, but escaped without any serious injuries.
Sowell then reveals that he doesn’t have insurance for his house to which Tuchman replies that he is “sorry” to hear that but is “grateful he is OK” before returning to Daniel again and making the same joke.
He ends the segment by saying: “And we are grateful you have a good friend next door, Daniel, who may propose to his girlfriend soon. Put him on the spot.”
Daniel responds by just laughing at Tuchmnn’s remark while Anderson Cooper, back in the studio, can also be seen smirking. Sowell asks them to “edit that part out” before being told: “This is live.”
“You see, a good sense of humour this guy, despite what he went through,” Tuchman concludes, while pointing at Sowell.
A very odd moment indeed.