TJ Holmes and Amy Robach have come to the defense of David Muir after he received criticism for using clothespins, presumably to achieve a more flattering fit on his fire jacket.

The incident occurred while Muir was reporting on the devastating Palisades fire in Los Angeles. As he turned to gesture towards the charred remains of a house, clothespins could be spotted adjusting the fire jacket he was wearing.

He’s received a ton of backlash for appearing vain in the face of tragedy. But Holmes and Robach see it differently based on their experience. 

‘The perspective might be missing if you’re just reading tweets,’ Holmes said during Friday’s episode of their podcast, Does This Make Me Look Fat?

‘There may be a missing perspective in that situation because, often times – and I’m not sure if he does this – you may have a producer or even a wardrobe assistant with you whose responsibility involves adjusting various elements like the microphone, IFB [in-ear monitor], and other things while you could be checking your phone, referring to notes, or engaging in other tasks,’ Holmes elaborated.

‘You don’t even know what’s happening to you, and someone could’ve made the decision of ‘Let me do this with the jacket.’ We don’t know.’

TJ Holmes and Amy Robach are defending David Muir after he was slammed for using clothes pins presumably to get a more flattering fit on the fire jacket he wore. Seen here December 13, 2024

He continued: ‘But just a little context, the guy works his butt off. You don’t like what he did, fine. It’s just a lot to be piling on.’

Robach added that when she was reporting from the site of a disaster or terrible crime, she made an effort to not look ‘too glamorous.’

‘I have taken great care as a journalist to not seem as though I’m concerned about how I look in that moment,’ she said. 

‘We all look different on the scene of these sorts of tragedies than we do on the set. On the set, we’ve got hair and makeup and nice suits and fitted clothing, but when you’re out there, it’s just a very different environment,’ she added.

She also defended Muir against the frenzied hate he’s been getting over the fit of his jacket.

‘I don’t think he deserves the hate he’s getting… I don’t think that is fair or appropriate in any way – and especially from people who’ve never had to be on television every day where your image, your looks are constantly being critiqued or acknowledged so you might have a hyper-awareness about that,’ she said.

However, Holmes feels that it does look bad for a TV journalist to be caught worrying about the fit of his jacket in the midst of a tragedy.

‘The idea that people – even if the midst of a tragedy – about to anchor a main evening broadcast wouldn’t give a damn about how they look is just unreasonable,’ he said. 

As he turned to point at the burned out remains of a home, clothes pins could be seen cinching in the fire jacket he wore

This all happened while Muir was reporting on the deadly Palisades fire in Los Angeles. Holmes and Robach seen here on December 13, 2024

Muir has received a ton of backlash for appearing vain in the face of tragedy

‘Now to what degree should they care is the issue and to what degree should they come off like they’re caring is then a separate issue, but of course he has to care and pay attention to how he looks before he goes on TV,’ Holmes said. 

‘But if your house was on fire and you see a guy over there with a mirror brushing his hair doing all this before he goes on the air and reports about your tragedy, that’s going to piss you off.’

However, what Holmes, Robach and the general public who are up in arms about Muir’s so-called vanity are missing is the fact that he was reporting from an area with extremely high winds.

If his jacket was flapping around in the wind, it would cause interference with the sound of his voice on the broadcast.

But logic didn’t prevail in this case with Megyn Kelly adding her opinion to the fray. 

‘The abject vanity of this man,’ Kelly said on her SiriusXM podcast The Megyn Kelly Show on Thursday.

‘Yes, he’s an actor who’s worried about his own vanity and beauty on camera. God forbid you think David Muir might be a little boxy in the waist.’

‘This is not dress up time… That’s something that my little boys did when they were still in the single digits…not on the news when people are dying,’ she added. ‘What are you doing?’

But Holmes and Robach see it differently based on their experience

‘The perspective might be missing if you’re just reading tweets,’ Holmes said

The World News Tonight anchor might have noticed the backlash, as he appeared on Thursday’s report from LA with an unzipped jacket that did not seen tailored to his figure.

It came as ABC News moles told Page Six that Muir’s jacket gaffe while covering the LA wildfires had left them ’embarrassed and horrified.’

The insiders claimed Muir’s decision to cinch in the waist of a fire retardant jacket with clothespins is par for the course for the ‘narcissistic’ anchor.

‘It’s pathetic. All flexed muscles and posing,’ one source said, referencing how Muir’s Instagram feed is plastered with photos of him sporting tight, black t-shirts while out in the field.