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It's a story we first brought you Monday, and gained widespread popularity on Wednesday. A Russian TV anchor gave her audience quite a surprise when she flipped her middle finger while delivering news about Obama. On Monday, the video went viral. On Wednesday, sources close to the anchor were in full damage control mode and said the gesture was meant for the crew. And today, it didn't matter -- she's now been yanked from the air.
(Related: Watch the original video)
The London Telegraph has the update:
REN TV, a privately owned channel controlled by associates of Vladimir Putin, the prime minister, said on Thursday it had decided to take her off air calling her actions "unacceptable" and "unprofessional".
"On 14 November during the 'News 24' programme the presenter Limanova made an unacceptable gesture that was a synonym for an offensive expression," it said in a statement.
The channel, which is broadcast to 120 million people, claimed the gesture was intended for her colleagues in the studio rather than for President Obama.
"It had no subtext and was not linked with the news that Limanova was reading at that moment," the statement said. Still, that couldn't save Tatyana Limanova.
"A decision has been taken that T Limanova cannot and will not continue to work on the REN TV channel as a presenter," it added.
It's unclear if Limanova has been simply demoted or completely let go from the channel.
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