This week’s total solar eclipse was an event nobody wanted to miss, but viewers of one news station got a bit more than they bargained for when they tuned in to watch the big moment.
Viewers of Mexico’s RCG Media’s 24/7 news program were left stunned after watching what they thought was a live feed of the moon covering the sun – only to see a man’s testicles loom into view instead.
The incident happened during a segment where the hosts shared clips of the eclipse sent in by viewers who’d captured the amazing phenomena.
However, one of the clips appeared to show a man blocking out the sun with his testicles, filmed from below.
People hoping to see the eclipse were treated to something else entirely. Credit: NurPhoto / Getty Images
Three news anchors were presenting the segment, and one of the female hosts could be heard gasping when the testicles appeared on screen, while the male presenter carried on as if nothing happened.
According to local outlet La Vanguardia, via the New York Post, it’s actually a pretty well-known prank in Latin America.
The clip was quickly taken off the screen after the testicles appeared, and the male anchor apologized to viewers, admitting that their desire to include fan-shot footage can lead to an embarrassing predicament for broadcasters when the wrong clips accidentally slip through.
A man’s testicles loomed into shot during the eclipse coverage. Credit: RCG Media
If you want to catch the whole, uncensored moment, many viewers took to Twitter (now known as X) to share the clip with their followers.
While the ‘testicular eclipse’ is apparently a common thing for people to share online, it appears to be the first time it’s made it to live television.
One Twitter/X user called Rhevolver claimed he was the one who sent the clip in to RCG after reveling in the success of his prank.
He wrote: “Greetings to all my people from Saltillo who had to watch my eggs on television because those from @rcg_media neglected to review the video of the eclipse carefully. I love them.”
It is not known whether the anatomy in question belongs to Rhevolver himself or if he shared a previous ‘testicular eclipse’ video shot by someone else.
RCG Media has yet to comment publicly on the accidental clip being shown.