Cockroach Crawls on Reporter Robert Kovacik During Live Broadcast
Robert Kovacik, a reporter for NBC Los Angeles News, managed to stay calm, or at least oblivious, when a cockroach crawled onto his shoulders and head during a live broadcast on the evening of Oct. 18.
"#NBCLA: Thanks viewers for noticing the 'guest' in our live shot! Any names for my new pet?" tweeted Kovacik after the incident happened.
The reporter was doing a live shot on Thursday's 11 p.m. news in West Los Angeles while reporting on the recently discovered Charles Mansion unsolved murders when a cockroach scurried onto his shoulders, running back and forth between his blades and once even finding its way onto Kovacik's head.
The serious journalist kept calm, however, maintaining a poker faced stare at the camera as the pesky critter raced around his upper half.
Many on the Internet were catching on to the video Friday, finding the combination of the cockroach's zest and Kovacik's stoic expression to be entertaining.
"Nothing bugs Robert Kovacik," stated the NBC LA station.
"NBC Los Angeles' Robert Kovacik keeps on rolling despite a bug that looks like it was raised in a steroid lab," tweeted Richard K. De Atley.
As NBC's "Today" show recalls, this is not the first time Kovacik has found himself in an awkward situation.
Just before Christmas 2010, Kovacik was dining at the Beverly Hills Hotel's Polo Club with "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Lisa Vanderpump when an intoxicated gentleman began hurling slurs at the pair.
The drunken suspect then punched Kovacik in the face, springing this past incident into the pop culture spotlight for a brief while.
Some savvy viewers managed to make the connection between Kovacik's recent cockroach incident and the past drunken brawl.
"Robert Kovacik is pals with the 'Real Housewives' so of course dealing with a roach on camera wouldn't faze him!" tweeted Michael Schneider.
Kovacik has previously reported for "Today In LA" and currently still reports for MSNBC.