A State Department press adviser was forced to resign after she was captured on video chucking a drink at a fan at a Washington Wizards game this week.
Britt McHenry, 40, began working at the department in September. She had previously written for The Spectator and worked as a news anchor at Fox News and ESPN, according to her LinkedIn page.
Page Six was first to report McHenry’s resignation. She confirmed to Front Office Sports that she had signed a resignation letter.
“She was forced to resign [over the incident],” an unnamed source told Page Six. “She was promoted and fired within 24 hours.”
Trending
The Washington Sun has contacted McHenry for comment.
The State Department told The Sun it does not “comment on internal personnel matters.”
The saga began at Capital One Arena during the Wizards’ season opener against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.
Page Six reported that a fan began “heckling” former Wizards player Kyle Kuzma, who now plays for the Bucks and is engaged to supermodel Winnie Harlow. Harlow has vitiligo, a chronic autoimmune condition that causes the varied loss of skin pigmentation throughout the body.
“They were saying he plays terribly because his girlfriend’s ugly,” a source told Page Six.
McHenry told the fan to “ease up,” prompting attendees to turn their attention to her.
Footage obtained by TMZ shows McHenry chucking a drink into a man’s face as fans chanted, “Get her out!” She exited the stadium blowing kisses and waving at attendees. Fans threw items at McHenry as she left her seat.
The State Department hired McHenry to be a press adviser covering Europe and Africa, Page Six reported. On the day of the incident, she’d been promoted to a new position.
She previously handled media relations over a scandal involving Kimberly Guilfoyle, in which she alledgely asked a Trump donor to cover $100,000 in credit card expenses before she was confirmed as U.S. ambassador to Greece, the outlet reported. Guilfoyle resigned Oct. 13.
According to the outlet, ESPN suspended McHenry in 2015 after footage of her lashing out at a towing company employee went viral.
“Do you feel good about your job? So I could be a college dropout and do the same thing? Why, ’cause I have a brain, and you don’t?” she said in the video as her car was being towed. “Maybe if I was missing some teeth, they would hire me, huh? … ‘Cause I’m on television, and you’re in a fucking trailer, honey.”
Author
