The CBS cameraman is facing some heat after repeatedly zooming in on Madison Beer during Sunday's NFL opener between the Los Angeles Chargers and Arizona Cardinals. The constant close-ups of the singer, who is engaged to Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, have sparked a social media firestorm.
Beer, who was at State Farm Stadium to support her future husband, did not seem thrilled with the attention. At one point, she was caught on mic appearing to say, "Why are they filming me?" as the cameras kept finding her in the crowd.
The internet, of course, had a field day. Fans flooded social media with complaints, accusing CBS of prioritizing celebrity shots over the game. "Stop showing these shots during football. It's annoying," one fan wrote. Another added, "Y'all know what you are doing." Even ESPN's SportsCenter got in on the action, tweeting a zoomed-in clip of Beer.
Some fans drew comparisons to the Taylor Swift phenomenon, with one commenter noting, "2026 Madison Beer = 2024 Taylor Swift. It's too much." The situation has become a major talking point, overshadowing the actual game in some respects.
On the field, the Chargers suffered a disappointing 23-17 loss to the Cardinals. Head coach Jim Harbaugh didn't mince words about the performance. "Some just uncharacteristic things happened," he said. "I would call it sloppy at times, too sloppy. And that's something we got to get fixed."
Herbert echoed his coach's frustration, saying, "We can't expect to win like that and we have to do better." The loss was a bitter pill for a team with playoff aspirations, and the focus now shifts to how they respond.
This isn't the first time broadcasters have faced backlash for their camera choices. In recent weeks, NFL fans have also demanded NBC drop Carrie Underwood from Sunday Night Football over similar frustrations. And the referees in the Oklahoma-Michigan game faced their own firestorm for a phantom facemask call. It seems broadcasters and officials alike are under the microscope this season.
As for the Chargers, they're hoping to put this rough start behind them. "Not the way we would want it to go," Harbaugh said. "And so I know the group of competitors we have, it's the feeling of you get punched and how we respond is what I'm thinking about right now."
Whether CBS will tone down its camera work remains to be seen, but for now, the zooming on Madison Beer has become an unintended subplot of Week 1.
