CNN Guest Goes Viral After Backflip Goes Wrong Live On Air originally appeared on Parade.
CNN guest RobertAnthony Cruz is going viral after his backflip attempt went horribly wrong live on air.
Cruz, who is a member of The Savannah Bananas baseball team and is known as Coach RAC, faceplanted live during a segment on CNN News Central after attempting a backflip.
Cruz stepped into an open area in the show’s studio to attempt the trick, but didn’t appear to jump high enough during the flip and landed with a loud thud on the floor.
“Oh, Jesus,” co-host Kate Bolduan remarked as Cruz lifted off for the stunt.
A guest on CNN attempted to backflip. pic.twitter.com/1bo6MhkaDI
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) July 24, 2025
Following the incident, Cruz posted a video of himself icing what appeared to be a busted lip with dried blood on it.
He later took to TikTok to explain what caused the mishap, saying he arrived in New York for the CNN taping at 2 a.m. from Houston and only got four hours of sleep. Cruz also showed clips from his previous successful backflip attempts, many of which included him simultaneously catching a baseball.
“I have done tens of thousands of backflips in my life,” he said. “I had zero reason to doubt my abilities.”
Cruz theorized the accident occurred due to a camera light flashing while he was mid-air. He said the bright light from the camera, which matched the white floor beneath him, caused him to lose where he was in the air. He ended up under-rotating, leading him to faceplant rather than land on his feet.
He added that he “didn’t even know how that happened” and that he felt bad for the news anchors on the show. After getting up from the failed flip attempt, he realized his mic pack had flown off and one of his shoes was off.
The baseball player wanted to continue on with his planned interview afterwards, however, he quickly noticed that blood was dripping from his lips and chin. Luckily, there was a doctor on-site and he received several stitches.
“Aside from my damaged pride, I didn’t sustain any serious injuries.” Cruz quipped.
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CNN Guest Goes Viral After Backflip Goes Wrong Live On Air first appeared on Parade on Jul 24, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 24, 2025, where it first appeared.
