Finnish News Anchor Gets Fired For Goofy On-Air Beer Gag

Presenting news is a serious business. Or so believe the management team at the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) who have fired Kimmo Wilska, a newsreader who pretended to drink from a beer bottle following a report on alcohol licensing inspections yesterday. A Facebook page called the ‘Kimmo Wilska Support Group’ has already attracted more than 20,000 fans in support of the popular Finnish personality, who is known in Finland as the “Barry White of Finland.” For real.

9News reports:

Kimmo Wilska, who is the country’s most famous English-language anchor, was delivering a story about Finland’s alcohol licensing laws.

While footage was rolling on the screen, he took a swig from a beer bottle.

But the camera cut back to Wilska while he was still taking a sip.

Wilska, dubbed the ‘Barry White of Finland’ because of his gravelly voice, is an anchorman at YLE, the country’s second largest TV channel.

He said the prank was meant for his colleagues in the studio and not to be broadcast on air.

You can join the Kimmo Wilska support group on Facebook here (though it will help mightily if you are fluent in Finnish). Watch the goofy gag below.

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