French journalist Emmanuel Lechypre apologized after making a joke about "Burning Pokémons" when BFM TV released a Chinese day of mourning for coronavirus victims.
A reporter spoke on Saturday as the station was broadcasting a three-minute broadcast on China.
During the video, Lechypre heard that he was whispering "the Pokémons burial", not knowing that his microphone was live and that his vision had been transmitted through the air.
Lechypre's apology did little to satisfy those who complained:
This morning on BFM TV, I allowed a totally inaccurate statement while broadcasting a tribute to victims of the virus in China. This negative comment was broadcast on the air when I thought the microphone was off. I'm really sorry.
BFM TV host Marc-Olivier Fogiel has apologized to viewers, but many have taken to social media to demand that Lechypre lose his job because of the comments, which some say does not excuse him. It turns out that Pokémon is not from China, but from Japan, which gives this complaint some weight.
