CNN correspondent Brian Stelter‘s Sunday night conversation with “CNN Newsroom” weekend host Jessica Dean was interrupted by his 5-year-old son.
As Dean was discussing with Stelter President Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal over the publication’s recent article about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the grinning face of Stelter’s son briefly showed up in the bottom right corner of the correspondent’s frame. Both Dean and Stelter smirked when the moment occurred but managed to keep their suppressed giggles to themselves and their conversation on the topic at hand.
The two did, however, acknowledge the charming interruption as they wrapped up. “Alright, Brian Stelter, thanks to you,” Dean told the CNN correspondent. “And I think you had a little helper with you, too, so give our thanks to him.”
“I apologize for my 5-year-old,” Stelter responded. “It’s bedtime here at the Stelter house.” Dean, in turn, told him, “We’re a family show, it’s always nice to have some extra hands.” You can watch the moment in question in the video below.
@dailymail CNN analyst Brian Stelter was deep into a serious segment on the 'many legs' of the Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein saga when his five-year-old son stole the spotlight with an on-camera cameo. Read more on DailyMail.com #news #trump #epstein #tv #kids ♬ original sound – Daily Mail
Stelter addressed his son’s interruption after the interview on X as well. When another user noted that Stelter appeared to have his “assistant” by his side Sunday night, the CNN correspondent tweeted, “LOL, yes, I tried my best not to break out laughing when he snuck into the camera shot.” Stelter received plenty of support online for the moment, with one X user telling him, “Loved it! We need a laugh now and then. He is adorable and it happens when you work from home.”
LOL, yes, I tried my best not to break out laughing when he snuck into the camera shot https://t.co/JAVIlw4Cg9 pic.twitter.com/fHk3vBINQq
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) July 20, 2025
Stelter is, of course, far from the first public personality who has had one of their TV appearances crashed by a family member. In early 2020, Jimmy Fallon’s “Tonight Show” interview with Jon Hamm was interrupted by his daughter, who went on to show Hamm her coloring book. In 2017, Professor Robert Kelly also had a live interview with the BBC crashed by his two kids and then his wife, who raced into his office to try to stop their children.
