‘GMA’ hosts, guest push through interview despite strange noise in studio

A strange noise in the newly renovated second-floor studio of ABC News‘ “Good Morning America” interrupted a segment Tuesday, April 5, 2022.

During the show’s 8:30 a.m. half hour, the show had Christy Turlington Burns as a guest to discuss a book she co-authored on motherhood.

While it didn’t pick up super clearly on the mics, there was a rather loud and annoying rattling nose in the studio during the segment that the anchors and Burns could hear.

“You’re being so articulate with our set rattling and falling apart behind you … we’re gonna fix it,” joked George Stephanopoulos as co-anchor Robin Roberts appeared to be looking off camera trying to determine where the sound was coming from.

During the interview, Burns appeared to be slightly distracted at times by the noise but mostly managed to stay on track.

“You are a delight and you are a pro and I agree with George. That noise has been rattling behind us and you were focused! Focused! That’s how you do it, ladies and gentlemen,” said Roberts with a laugh.

It turns out the culprit of the noise was a malfunctioning lighting instrument, according to a source. The issue has been resolved and no damage or injuries resulted.

The set was not, as Stephanopoulos joked, ever in danger of “falling apart.”

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Lighting instruments, especially older incandescent fixtures, have been known to cause issues in TV studios, including setting fire to the set or furniture when bulbs burst, sending hot glass and melting gel flying.

Back in 2007, ABC owned WABC was knocked off the air just before 11 p.m. after a light bulb set a studio drape on fire, heavily damaging the station’s main news set, which, at the time, shared space with “Live with Regis and Kelly.”

In 2016, then Fox anchor Shepard Smith was distracted by a noise that was apparently emanating from one of the walls from the Fox News Deck — and of course there’s the issue of fire alarms going off during live newscasts (it’s happened to Smith and Brian Williams at NBC).