KTLA anchor Mark Mester was fired after he criticized on-air how the station did not even let his co-anchor Lynette Romero bid good-bye to his viewers after her sudden departure.

KTLA general manager Janene Drafs announced Mester’s firing during a meeting in the newsroom. Mester is also no longer listed as an anchor on KTLA’s website.

Mester had delivered a surprise, off-script defense of his former co-anchor and friend, according to the Los Angeles Times.

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On Saturday, Mester apologized to viewers on behalf of KTLA.

“I want to start off right now by offering up an apology to you,” Mester said to the viewers. “What the viewers experienced was rude, it was cruel, it was inappropriate and we are so sorry.

“I also want to say sorry to Lynette Romero because Lynette, I love you so much, you literally are my best friend. You did not deserve what happened to you.”

According to the staff, producers wrote a script for Mester to read about Romero, but instead the anchor went rogue, LA Times reported.

Who is Mark Mester?

Mester is an American anchor and reporter who most recently was part of KTLA. He served as the weekend morning news anchor at the station alongside Lynette Romero, Liberte Chan and Ellina Abovian.

Mester was born on December 27, 1986, in Budapest, Hungary. He joined KTLA 5 News as a general assignment reporter in 2014. Before joining KTLA, he was working as a presenter and reported at KEYT-TV.

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The 35-year-old is in a relationship with Isabella Murr and the two live together, according to the who is bio.

His father is Dr. Andrew Mester, who is an ENT specialist in Santa Barbara, California. He has two brothers, Matt and Luke.