CNN’s Sara Sidner Cries Through Live Broadcast While Reporting on COVID-19 Deaths
CNN’s Sara Sidner broke down crying during a COVID-19 report on Tuesday.
The journalist was interviewing a woman who lost her parents to the virus. The family held a funeral for their loved ones in the hospital parking lot.
“These families should not be going through this,” she said. “It’s just really hard to take.”
In a heartbreaking live segment, reporter Sara Sidner choked up on air while covering the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday. The CNN journalist was interviewing a California woman who lost her mother and stepfather to the virus. Juliana Jimenez Sesma’s family held a funeral for their loved ones in the parking lot.
Sesma told Sidner that all of her family members were diagnosed with COVID-19. “Don’t let this be you,” Sesma said. “If you truly love your loved ones, don’t let this be you. Continue to take all the precautions. Take extra precautions. Exaggerate if you have to.”
Following Sesma’s words, Sidner started to tear up, apologized, and got through her report while crying. “You know, this is the tenth hospital that I have been in, and to see the way that these families have to live after this, and the heartache that goes so far and so wide,” Sidner told CNN’s Alisyn Camerota. “It’s just really hard to take.”
This is Why I lost it on live TV. I felt like I needed to explain myself. 🤷🏽♀️ https://t.co/lkv7XIxXpE
— Sara Sidner (@sarasidnerCNN) January 13, 2021
“No apology needed. We’ve been watching your reporting on the ground throughout this horrific year, and we have all been struck by the collective grief we are in,” Camerota replied. “And to see these families who are soldiering through it, who are persevering and who are having to have these funeral in parking lots like the ones you showed us, it is just a collective trauma that all of us are living through.”
“Sara, we all appreciate the heart that you bring to this every single day as well as your excellent reporting,” she added.
On Tuesday, the United States set a record high for COVID-19 deaths in a single day since January 2020. According to CNN, more than 4,000 deaths were attributed to COVID-19 on Jan. 12. At the time of publication, more than 375,000 Americans have lost their lives to the coronavirus, per the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“It’s just not OK. It’s not OK—what we’re doing to each other,” Sidner said. “No family should be going through this. So, please, listen to what this family is saying. Don’t let this be you. Do whatever you can to keep this from killing your family members and your neighbors and your friends and your teachers and your firefighters. All of these people are here to help you, but you have to do your part.”
To prevent the spread of COVID-19, the CDC recommends wearing a face mask, social distancing, washing your hands often, covering your face when you cough or sneeze, and being aware of symptoms.
In an essay published on Wednesday, Sidner further explained “why I lost it on live TV.”
“I can’t tell you what a hard slap in the face it is to constantly experience two distinctly different worlds in one beautiful but imperfect America: One based on reality, the other on conspiracy and tribalism,” she wrote. “I’ve now been to 10 hospitals trying to deal with the pandemic. I’ve witnessed people writhing in pain, gasping for breath and near death from Covid-19 in ICUs across the country. I’ve seen doctors and nurses with exhaustion written all over their faces still battling like the pandemic just began, though we are 12 months in. And then, as I make my way home and stop to pump gas, someone rolls their eyes at me and asks, ‘Why are you wearing a mask?’ Like it’s me that’s bonkers.”
Sidner added that the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol also fueled her emotions, as America grapples with a “blow to democracy” in the middle of a tragic pandemic. “So when you saw me cry, you witnessed my rage. I care about my country. I worry about the new and old ills facing us. And I feel like my country is on life support.”
Viewers responded to Sidner on social media, and thanked her for being so honest and vulnerable.
“You never have to explain your humanity or emotions. Everyone could relate, most felt the same way,” one person tweeted. “You’ve been doing an amazing job as always reporting on this for an entire year, thank you so much Sara.”
“Your tears and rage are what this country needs to see to break through the numbness and denial,” another said. “Thank you for reporting.”
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