[Archive 2009-02-22] Adela Lupșe, outburst TV presenter, gives her side

Historical archive — originally published 2009-02-22. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

The call-in quiz show is a staple of cheap programming throughout Europe. The format is simple: a question is displayed on screen, and callers phone in with their guesses – paying a premium rate to do so. The programs are often repetitive, the average question simple, the average prize small.

On December 6 2008, Adela Lupșe, presenting the call-in quiz Telepremii on Național TV on Romanian television, had what The Daily Telegraph described as a "tantrum on air". As the final prize became available, Ms Lupșe's show had no callers. Already excited, she began to shout. Throwing the telephone down on the studio floor and stomping on it, she admonished her viewers, "I want the telephone to ring now. Now. Call me now!"

Various reports in the English-speaking press went on to state that Ms Lupșe had been fired, or fired and re-hired, that the show had been fined heavily, forced to move to a late-evening time slot, or given an adults-only rating.

After presenting the broadcasts of this morning's call-in programs, including the same one she was supposedly fired from in January, Ms Lupșe spoke to Wikinews from her television studio in Budapest, Hungary to give her first full-length English interview and talk about her work and her version of events.

Adela Lupșe's December 6 broadcast was a normal day. She went to the studio, prepared her hair and makeup, spoke to the producer, and went onscreen. The only thing out of the ordinary, she says, was the size of the prize: 1500 leu, about $US 450, or roughly a month's wage for a typical Romanian. She describes the critical moment in nonchalant terms:

How did you feel, then, when you began shouting? Many people have said you seemed angry...

She says she and her show weren't fired or fined. The first inkling she had, in fact, that there was something unusual about that day's broadcast was when, on January 9 2009, MTV Russia aired the clip of her shouting and stomping on the phone, mixed with some dramatic orchestral rock music. That same clip, uploaded onto video service YouTube, quickly garnered over one million views.

Adela Lupșe says she's happy with the attention brought her from her outburst: she's been interviewed on talk shows in both Hungary and Romania so "people were able to see that I'm a normal, fun to be around person." She's occasionally recognized in the street, which she enjoys.

And as for the charge most frequently leveled against her, that she's "crazy": "I think it is normal that people have prejudicies, everyone is free to express his opinion in the same way that I'm free to do my job the best that I can! I'm hurt if my family is unhappy with people's comments but I think I gain the wisdom to ignore the negative feedback!

Source and licence

Text adapted from Adela Lupșe, outburst TV presenter, gives her side by Wikinews contributors under CC BY 2.5. Paragraphs have been selected and abridged, and formatting adjusted. Contributor history.