Here’s an unfortunate situation that fortunately didn’t turn out a lot worse. During the June 14 filming of FOX News show Fox & Friends, West Point marching band drummer Jeff Prosperie was struck by an axe thrown by co-host Pete Hegseth. Luckily, the percussionist did not suffer serious injuries after Hegseth missed a nearby target when warming up for an adjacent segment.
The television broadcast did not show Prosperie getting hit by the axe. However, footage of the moment was later found and spliced into the video below.
In the next segment, Prosperie was interviewed about his membership in West Point’s Legendary Hellcats band. The axe-throwing incident was not mentioned and Prosperie does not appear to be visibly hampered. Footage of the interview is available here.
Though the incident occurred nine days ago, it got new legs on June 20, when Prosperie wrote an update on his Facebook page:
I was hit by an axe while performing a drum solo live on National TV…..words I never imagined saying! This happened…
Posted by Jeff Prosperie on Saturday, June 20, 2015
In the comments of the post above, he went into further detail:
Pat, we were doing commercial bumps on Fox and Friends Sunday morning celebrating the Army’s 240th birthday and flag day. My leadership told me they were told there would be no axe throwing. I think the anchor person went rogue and decided to throw it. He had only thrown it once before in practice for an upcoming segment and they told him to throw it with more force. The vid you see is edited showing the Televised portion of the throw and then edited to a portion that was taken on someone’s phone of us being videoed. The part that was actually televised showed the overthrown axe and then segued to us for the drum solo bump, only showing me walking behind the section holding my arm. The actual part where the axe hit me was not televised. Poor decision, obvious negligence, should not have happened, could have been avoided. When shooting or throwing, always know what is behind your target. Basic safety rule. I’m feeling blessed on Father’s day with my 5 children, alive, and with all limbs.
Prosperie, currently sgt. first class, joined the West Point Band as a member of the Legendary Hellcats in Dec. 2006. The expert snare drummer/instructor currently serves as both the section leader and principal drummer of the percussion section.
Billboard has reached out to Prosperie and Fox News for comment.