Football fans unimpressed with Drew Brees ‘struck by lightning’ stunt
Global News
Drew Brees wasn't actually struck by lightning — even though it looked that way — and fans were horrified that he agreed to be part of the stunt.
A viral video that appeared to show legendary U.S. quarterback Drew Brees get struck by lightning while filming a commercial sent fans into a concerned flurry Friday morning, but the flurry quickly turned to fury as they learned more.
A video from the filming of a PointsBet Sportsbook commercial was posted to Twitter Friday morning, shared by a Venezuelan filmmaker and retweeted by American sports commentator Amy Dash.
The 14-second video showed Brees getting ready to do the commercial spot, standing near the Catatumbo River in Venezuela, while lightning flashed in the background and crew worked around him. Suddenly, a bright flash appeared on the screen and the camera dropped while a woman yelled in the background.
“It is unclear why the commercial was being filmed in these conditions but this reportedly occurred overnight,” Dash tweeted after posting the video.
Shortly after, PointsBet issued a statement: “We are aware of the media coverage regarding PointsBet brand ambassador Drew Brees. We are in communication with Brees’ team and will continue to monitor events throughout the coming hours. At this stage we will not be making any further comment.”
Dash’s report lined-up with events posted to Brees’ Twitter account earlier in the week. The former New Orleans Saints quarterback tweeted on Monday that he was “excited to be flying to a top-secret location” later in the week where he would be filming a promo for PointsBet, a sports betting website.
