‘I just swallowed a fly’: CNN guest suffers on-air disaster but chokes his way through interview

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An economist took live television interruption to a new level on Saturday when an insect flew into his mouth during a CNN interview about the U.S. economy.

University of Michigan professor Justin Wolfers was analyzing labor market data with CNN anchor Omar Jimenez when Wolfers accidentally swallowed a fly mid-interview. He was describing the U.S. labor market as “The Little Engine That Could” and noted it was “not earning an A+ in anyone’s book, but it does seem remarkably resilient so far.”

He added, “But, all resilient until the day that we’re not,” before he suddenly began coughing and struggling to speak.

Jimenez attempted to keep the segment moving to give Wolfers a moment to recover, asking, “You know, I just wonder, like, as we look ahead, everyone is looking — maybe not everyone — but, folks like yourself are looking at the Fed and trying to figure out, okay, we have these economic indicators, maybe the job market is a little softer, but how do you think the Fed is going to read this, considering they didn’t hike interest rates at the last meeting?”

“Mate, I just swallowed a fly on live television!” Wolfers said after managing to clear his throat.

University of Michigan professor Justin Wolfers was analyzing labor market data with CNN anchor Omar Jimenez when Wolfers accidentally swallowed a fly mid-interview (CNN)

“I was trying to keep talking while you were coughing, so you could figure it out,” Jimenez responded. “It’s all good!”

Wolfers, an Australian native, joked about the situation on air, claiming that “Aussies love eating flies!” before tying the mishap back to Federal Reserve monetary policy.

“It might actually be a metaphor, because the biggest thing going on at the Fed is Kevin Warsh feels like I do right now,” Wolfers said, pausing to cough. “Kevin Warsh doesn’t like talking about what’s going on, and it makes both of us a little harder to understand and a little harder to interpret. So, you can think of Kevin as having swallowed the fly as well. I might swallow a horse; that will get the fly as well.”

Following the broadcast, Wolfers addressed the incident on X.

“A fly just zipped into my mouth while gabbing on CNN,” Wolfers wrote. “Next question was about the Fed, so I did what Kevin Warsh won’t — I swallowed hard and kept talking. I figure folks deserve some clarity about the economy.”

He added: “(Postscript: The fly is dead. And I’m no longer a vegetarian.)”