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Leon Harris is opening up about his struggles with alcoholism after a very public incident that ended his TV news career.
He joined former CNN co-anchor Daryn Kagan on her Call Me Friend podcast for his first interview after the scandal, where he admitted he had been drinking, before appearing on air.
The former NBC4 anchor went viral last November on Thanksgiving Day after a shaky news segment, with many people concerned that he was having a stroke on-air.
Harris explained he had four hours in between shows that day, and had dinner and some glasses of wine.
“Even at the time, I felt like I was perfectly fine,” he said.
He later realized he was more affected than he thought he was. Harris was eventually pulled off the air and sent home in an Uber.
“It was the most embarrassing thing that has ever, ever happened to me,” Harris said.
He said it was hard seeing the video of him on-air.
“It was gut-wrenching. It was like, ‘Oh, my God. I had no idea that I was that far gone,'” Harris said, adding that it made him think about how many other people he negatively impressed. “That’s something that haunts me to this day … and knowing that is on the internet and it’s still alive is something that I’ll never live down and get away from.”
As soon as the incident occurred, he says he enrolled in Recovery Village, in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
His rehabilitation included discussions with psychiatrists and counselors, and taking medications to both lessen the drive to drink, and to make him sick if he does drink alcohol.
“It flipped a switch for me. I’ve got my head rewired. I haven’t even thought about having a drink since December,” he said.
According to a news release at the time, he left NBC Washington in April to prioritize his health.
Previously, Harris left work in 2022 because he was convicted of a charge of driving under the influence and was sentenced to 10 days in jail and three years of supervised probation.
Recently, Harris was told by executives that the viral moment “was too much of a negative event, it was too well-publicized, and they didn’t feel comfortable bringing me back.”
When he got back to his car, in the parking lot, he asked himself what he would do next. “I literally shrugged, and said, ‘Well, whatever it is, I’m gonna do it, and I’m gonna do it healthy. I didn’t just do it for them, I did it for me, too. And, so, no matter what happens, I’m going to be healthy.”
Harris has been a local news anchor in the D.C. area for 20 years with a stop at 7News, after 21 years at CNN.
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