Hubie Halloween cameo gets Boston news anchor fired

October 19th 2020, 11:45am

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Appearing in a major motion picture should be a dream come true but for one Boston news anchor, her cameo appearance in a recent Netflix film resulted in the loss of her job.

Boston news anchor Alaina Pinto has been fired by WHDH for her cameo in Adam Sandler's new Netflix Halloween movie HUBIE HALLOWEEN. The movie was released earlier this month on the streaming platform and quickly became Netflix's most-streamed movie, even with mixed reviews from critics. The exposure is likely what got Pinto's Harley Quinn cameo noticed by her superiors and it apparently did not sit well with them. As it turns out, Pinto was under contract by WHDH, and taking on a role in a movie or TV show was allegedly something she was not allowed to do. Check out Pinto's statement about her firing below:

"I mistakenly violated my contract with the station and I understand why management unfortunately chose to terminate me. I am deeply disappointed and saddened, and I hoped this would not be how things evolved… Thanks to all my wonderful 7 News viewers and my supportive and great colleagues at the station. Reporting the news to you every morning was an honor and a privilege. I promise to stay in touch and keep you updated on the next chapter – the future is bright!"

Alaina Pinto worked for WHDH for four years and, as of this writing, the Boston-based station has yet to issue a statement on their reasoning for letting her go, even though it's clear that it was a contract violation. Hopefully, the future is bright for Pinto and her little cameo gets her noticed by another station because it does seem a bit unfair that this is the reason she had to be let go. In HUBIE HALLOWEEN, Pinto's newscaster character dresses as Harley Quinn for the movie's fictional Wake-Up Boston news station. Pinto and Adam Sandler's wife Jackie, who also appears as a newscaster dressed as Harley Quinn in the movie, make comments about sharing the same costume.

HUBIE HALLOWEEN is centered on October 31st in Salem, Massachusetts where Adam Sandler's character finds himself in the midst of a real investigation for murder, while the town goes crazy around him. The film also stars Kevin James, Julie Bowen, Ray Liotta, Steve Buscemi, Rob Schneider, Maya Rudolph, Tim Meadows, Michael Chiklis, George Wallace, and Kenan Thompson.