KTLA’s Rachel Menitoff had a surprise visitor during a live weather report on Tuesday night when a massive flying cockroach landed on her and began crawling up her chest and neck.
“And it’s a lot more comfortable at this hour, but we’re still in the 80s here in the Valley,” Menitoff said as the roach was seen crawling up her abdomen and on her neck.
“So overnight temperatures aren’t necessarily dropping, and this leads to less recovery time from the daytime heat,” she continued as she powered through the hit, completely unfazed.
Afterward, she could be seen freaking out, brushing her chest and wiggling her arms in an attempt to fling it off.
Menitoff’s morning news colleagues reacted to the clip, applauding her fearlessness and focus as the massive insect crawled up and down her body.
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Menitoff went on to describe the moment, saying she noticed the cockroach but somehow kept her composure until she was off camera.
Per KTLA:
Speaking with KTLA.com after the broadcast, Menitoff said she knew the cockroach had landed on her but made a conscious decision to stay focused until the report was finished.
“I knew it was on me,” she said. “But I knew if I took notice of it, I wouldn’t be able to continue on with the report. So I said to myself, just get through this moment and then kind of shake it off.”
The timing, she added, was fitting.
“Ironically, the story was about the extreme heat in the Valley, and these cockroaches are attracted to the heat and the warm temperatures and our camera lights,” Menitoff said. “So, it was sort of the perfect environment for the roaches.”
KTLA 5 morning news also praised her professionalism in an X post, writing, “Who else could remain this cool!?”
Former Los Angeles Mayoral Candidate Spencer Pratt even chimed in on the viral moment, slamming former competitor Nithya Raman for turning her district into a “Mumbai slum.”
“Nithya Raman has made her district so filthy, you can’t even do a quick news hit without cockroaches crawling all over you like some Mumbai slum,” Pratt said. “The median home price here is $1.5M”
Nithya Raman has made her district so filthy, you can’t even do a quick news hit without cockroaches crawling all over you like some Mumbai slum. The median home price here is $1.5M https://t.co/LUTeBA8AZg
— Spencer Pratt (@spencerpratt) July 15, 2026
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