CNN Brian Stelter’s 5-Year-Old Son Accidentally Crashes His Live TV Interview

Brian Stelter‘s most recent appearance on CNN featured an unexpected special guest.

The CNN Chief Media Analyst joined Jessica Dean for a conversation about President Donald Trump suing Rupert Murdoch and the Wall Street Journal for a report about the Epstein files on Sunday, July 20. Though Stelter appeared to be filming in a studio, it was revealed he was actually working from home when his 5-year-old son, Story, popped into frame.

Stelter kept a straight face as his smiling son continued to scooch in front of the camera. “Brian Stelter, thanks to you. And I think you had a little helper with you, too, so give our thanks to him,” Dean said at the end of the segment, per People.

Stelter candidly replied, “I apologize for my 5-year-old. It’s bedtime here at the Stelter house.” (The journalist shares Story and his 8-year-old daughter, Sunny, with his wife, Jamie Stelter.)

🚨NEW: @brianstelter‘s 5-year-old keeps popping into frame during his “CNN Newsroom” appearance🤣@DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/YlOvFPI5NI

— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) July 21, 2025

Brian later poked fun at the funny on-air moment via X. “LOL, yes, I tried my best not to break out laughing when he snuck into the camera shot,” he wrote alongside a screenshot of his son next to him on TV.

Despite the conversation’s serious subject matter, CNN viewers were delighted by Story’s funny news report cameo. “Loved it! We need a laugh now and then. He is adorable and it happens when you work from home,” one person wrote via X, while another joked, “I hope you gave him a cut of your fee.”

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Another X user wrote that they “love seeing anchors as real people.” A fourth person added, “Honestly, who needs bloopers when you’ve got live chaos? 😂 Keep the surprises coming—at least it’s more entertaining than the news today.”

Before Brian’s interview was crashed by his son, the pair kicked off their weekend by cheering on Lionel Messi at a Saturday, July 19, soccer match between Inter Miami and the New York Red Bulls.

“Our first professional soccer match! We were there for one guy and he didn’t disappoint,” Jamie captioned Instagram pics of herself, her husband, and her son together at the game. “The whole arena chanted “MESSI! MESSI!” anytime he was near the ball. Half the place was in Red Bull red, the other half was in Messi jerseys 🙋🏻‍♀️ It was so much fun. We’ll be back! ⚽️ #messi.”

Courtesy of Jamie Stelter/Instagram

Brian shared several snaps of his son enjoying the game in an Instagram post of his own, which he captioned, “GOOOOOOAL!”

Brian previously hosted CNN’s Reliable Sources from 2013 until its cancellation in 2022. He returned to the network two years later by announcing he would author CNN’s Reliable Sources newsletter.

Last month, Brian notably reposted the since-deleted tweet that got Terry Moran fired from ABC News. In the June 8 post, Moran referred to Trump and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller as “world-class” haters.