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Desus & Mero

This Woman Decided to Cover a Local Fire and Basically Solved an Arson

Desus and Mero unpack the expletive-packed footage from citizen reporter Rhoda Young.
Lia Kantrowitz
illustrated by Lia Kantrowitz

Last week, a house in Norfolk, Virginia, erupted into flames. Before first responders or the local news crew showed up, Rhoda Young was on the scene—an aspirational reporter with a cellphone, an unquenchable thirst for the truth, and a mouth like a sailor.

"We on the scene of this bitch," she screamed at the opening of her Facebook Live video, sprinting toward the burning house for a DIY report. "This is Rhoda Young reporting live… The house fire is in full active duty right now."

Young canvassed the scene, asking firefighters about the blaze, interviewing witnesses, and tracking down a man crushing a six-pack on a lawn across the street—who turned out to own the home that went up in flames. After claiming the owner was "drunk as a motherfucker," she started piecing together a theory that he started the inferno. A little later, he was arrested and charged with arson.

On Thursday's episode of VICELAND's Desus and Mero, the hosts unpacked the wild footage Young captured, struggling to decipher what "fully engulged" means and taking in Young's impressive run as an investigative reporter. Mero summed up the clip pretty succinctly: "What the fuck is this?"

You can watch Thursday night’s Desus & Mero for free online now, and be sure to catch new episodes weeknights at 11 PM on VICELAND.