Britt McHenry Resigns State Department Job After Drink-Throwing Video

Britt McHenry is out of her job at the State Department days after video showed her throwing a drink at a fan during an NBA game in Washington, ending a short government stint for the former ESPN and Fox News broadcaster almost as quickly as it began.

Page Six reported that McHenry, 40, was forced to resign over the incident. She confirmed to Front Office Sports that she had signed a resignation letter, and Front Office Sports reported she is no longer in the role. A source told Page Six: "She was promoted and fired within 24 hours." The State Department told Page Six it does not comment on internal personnel matters.

The confrontation happened on Wednesday, October 21, at Capital One Arena during the Washington Wizards' season opener against the Milwaukee Bucks, a game Washington won 128 to 116. Page Six reported that men seated near McHenry were heckling Bucks forward Kyle Kuzma, a former Wizard who is engaged to model Winnie Harlow, and were saying he played badly because of his fiancee. A source told the outlet the men said other harsh things about Harlow, and McHenry told one fan to ease up.

Video obtained by TMZ shows McHenry throwing the remains of her drink at a man as spectators turned on her, chanting for her to be removed. She walked up the aisle blowing kisses and waving while fans threw items in her direction, and she left the arena with a male companion.

Why it matters

McHenry had joined the department only in September, hired as a press adviser covering Europe and Africa, according to Page Six. On the same day as the game, she had been promoted to a new position leading external affairs and press work for the team of Under Secretary of State Jacob Helberg. The resignation closes that chapter within about seven weeks of her arrival. She announced the job on LinkedIn on September 8, writing that she was starting a new chapter after 17 years on camera.

For the department, the episode is an unwanted distraction with a simple public record: a viral video, a one-line no-comment response, and a personnel change completed within days. No criminal charge or league sanction has been reported in the coverage so far.

The context

This is not McHenry's first viral video. In 2015, while she was working at ESPN, a video of her berating a towing company employee was published, and ESPN suspended her. That history is part of why this week's clip spread so fast: viewers who remembered the 2015 video shared the arena footage widely, and sports and political outlets picked the story up within a day.

What happens next

The open questions are small but real. Whether McHenry comments publicly beyond confirming the resignation letter, whether she returns to broadcasting, and whether the department fills the external affairs role she had just been promoted into. On the record available now, her time at the department is over, and neither side is saying more.

Key numbers

• September 8, 2026: McHenry announces the State Department job on LinkedIn
• October 21, 2026: the Wizards beat the Bucks 128 to 116 in the season opener where the incident happened
• 24 hours: the span, per a Page Six source, between her promotion and her forced resignation
• 17 years: her time on camera before joining the department, in her own description