It’s the slipup America seems to need right now.
Over the past few days, Toni Brattin has gone viral for accidentally saying an NSFW phrase while showing off a wig during a QVC broadcast.
Brattin is speaking about the wig in the clip, before quickly realizing she accidentally used a euphemism for oral sex, instead of “blow out.” She then tries (and fails) to suppress her laughter as she collapses on the floor in embarrassment.
Brattin opened up about the moment − which now has over 27 million views on Instagram − in an interview with TMZ.
“I know in my case, sometimes, you never really know what’s going to come out out of my mouth,” she told the outlet, noting that, while hosting QVC, your brain has to be thinking of several things at once, which means mistakes are bound to happen. “At the moment it comes out, you almost say to yourself, ‘Did I just say what I think I said?'”
The internet has been loving the story, making jokes, sharing reactions and commiserating with Brattin. Perhaps more importantly, the story of Brattin’s flub has been a welcome contrast for many from the otherwise more upsetting stories in the news right now. Amid difficult reports about the ongoing Lindsay Clancy murder trial, conflict in the Middle East and even the death of a beloved eagle named Jackie, Brattin’s blooper might be just the mental break the country needs right now.
“We can tolerate just so much bad news before getting overwhelmed,” says relationship therapist Philip Lewis. “Humor is an excellent way to give our brain a break.”
Toni Brattin’s NSFW flub and how humor heals
Turns out, in some cases, mental health experts say, laughter really can be the best medicine.
“There is a time and place and season in our healing journey where humor is appropriate and sometimes even needed,” Cecille Ahrens, a licensed clinical social worker, previously told USA TODAY. “The ability to laugh with ourselves, as opposed to at ourselves can be a sign of one’s healing.”
And that approach − of laughing with rather than at ourselves − seems to be exactly the one Brattin’s taken in the wake of her QVC blooper. Instead of retreating from embarrassment or moving on like the moment didn’t happen, she’s been making light of it herself and getting in on the joy it’s brought to so many viewers.
“Everyone loves a good blooper!” Brattin wrote on Instagram. “This happens to be my biggest blooper in 30 years! I’m glad you(‘re) all laughing with me!”
Fans certainly are.
“Can she please win an Emmy for this and get a raise,” one commenter wrote. “This is my favorite video on the internet right now,” wrote another. “where do I order the wig,” wrote another.
The story also comes amid a time when there are some particular heavy subjects making headlines. The Clancy trial remains underway, which involves a mother accused of killing her three young children. The United States’ war with Iran rages on and continues to make people around the world feel uneasy. And, on top of it all, the death of a beloved bald eagle Jackie has also hit some people especially hard.
Can you blame anyone for wanting to play a silly QVC blooper on repeat?
“Laughter can help us release all the nervous energy that gets built up when we’re stressed,” Lewis says. “People are getting bummed out by the news. When the world feels heavy … a human moment can remind us that life isn’t all doom and gloom.”
What healthy humor looks like
Of course, humor isn’t appropriate in every situation, and it is possible to have too much of a good thing.
The key, Lewis says, is to make sure that humor is helping you process or providing a necessary break. If you find that the jokes you’re cracking or only adding more negativity to a situation, it might be best to recalibrate.
“I always tell people to titrate their emotions, feel them, allow them to come up as they can, but then you got to take a break,” Lewis says. “The bad side to humor is when you use humor at the expense of someone else, sometimes even when there’s too much self-deprecating humor. There’s enough doom and gloom out there. We want the humor to be light, playful.”
Contributing: David Oliver