Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes Defend David Muir Amid Clothespin Backlash

ABC World News Tonight anchor David Muir plunged the evening news program into controversy last week when viewers noticed he was using a clothespin to make his jacket look slimmer while reporting from the scene of the Southern California wildfires.

On X, people called Muir vain and narcissistic for seemingly caring about his appearance during coverage of a wide-reaching tragedy.

Other people, meanwhile, didn’t consider the clothespin that big of a gaffe:

Omg. Leave David Muir alone. His svelte figure and Miss America hands may be the only sliver of happiness people see amongst the horrific devastation of this catastrophe. Soften the blow, people, soften the blow pic.twitter.com/dT7VI6aa4a

— Tatiana Ryann (@tatianaryann18) January 9, 2025

And now Muir’s former ABC News colleagues Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes have come to his defense.

Robach and Holmes — who lost their jobs hosting ABC’s GMA3: What You Need to Know after their romantic relationship was uncovered — sounded off about the Muir backlash in a new episode of their podcast, Amy & T.J.

“He is a consummate professional,” Robach said of Muir. “He takes his job very seriously, and he works very hard, not just to get the information right but to present it in the best way possible. And, look, he was covering the wildfires, and there were hurricane-force winds described as almost tornadic. So he cinched his jacket, as many of us have done in the field and on the set, to create a cleaner line.”

Robach said she understands the outrage: “Just the thought that went into the look of something when you have a massive tragedy unfolding behind you with flames, people’s homes, belongings, lives being lost… to even be concerned about how you look seems like a slap in the face to people who are dealing with the worst possible situation. So I understand the anger and the fact that they’re hurling it at him because, by seeing that clothespin, it looks like his focus was on himself instead of on the story he was covering.”

Holmes added what he called “the perspective that might be missing,” saying the clothespin might have been the decision of a producer or a wardrobe assistant traveling with Muir. “People are pulling and plugging things onto you, the mic and the [interruptible foldback device] and all these things. You don’t even know what’s happening to you. And someone could have made the decision to just, let me do this with the jacket. We just don’t know. But just a little context, the guy works his butt off.”

Robach then gave Muir a ringing endorsement. “I just wanted to say that it is a shame because I do think that he is an excellent reporter and puts himself out there, puts himself in plenty of and has put himself in plenty of situations, [and works] tirelessly to make sure that people understand what’s going on, to bring people the latest and greatest and important information,” she said. “So I just, I would hate for him to somehow appear as though he has no value, no journalistic integrity. That’s not fair.”

ABC World News Tonight, Daily, 6:30/5:30c, ABC