Los Angeles journalist Rachel Menitoff maintained her professionalism during a live television report Tuesday night when a cockroach crawled over her body. Menitoff, reporting for KTLA 5 in Sherman Oaks about an ongoing heat wave, continued her segment without visible disruption as the insect moved across her neck and chest before flying away from her microphone.
“And it’s a lot more comfortable at this hour, but we’re still in the 80s here in the Valley,” Menitoff said during the broadcast. “So overnight temperatures aren’t necessarily dropping, and this leads to less recovery time from the daytime heat…”
Following the live shot, Menitoff was seen reacting to the incident, brushing the bug off her. Her KTLA colleagues praised her composure, with anchor Megan Henderson noting, "She kept her cool. There’s no way I would have been able to keep going." Meteorologist Kirk Hawkins remarked, "That’s terrifying. Now we’re all going to have nightmares about flying cockroaches."
Menitoff later explained that she was aware of the cockroach but focused on completing her report. "I said to myself, just get through this moment and then kind of shake it off," she said. She also noted the irony, as the story was about the heat, and cockroaches are attracted to warm temperatures and camera lights.
The viral clip drew reactions on social media, with some users praising Menitoff's professionalism and others commenting on the perceived state of Los Angeles. Conservative commentator Steve Guest wrote, "Karen Bass’s LA is overrun by cockroaches. Gross."