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What do Robert Durst, President Obama and Gordon Brown share in common: Microphone gaffs, a PR nightmare

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By Nesh Pillay, Reporter

March 16, 2015 | 2 min read

Every PR guru knows the dangers of having a client fitted with a lapel mic. If its on and the client is unaware, he may say something he regrets.

These dangers were proven once again last night. This time, they involved an eccentric New York real-estate heir, and three unsolved murders.

On the final episode of HBO documentary series, ‘The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst,’ Robert Durst confessed to being a murderer -- or so it sounded.

Durst, who had been linked to at least three murders, but never formally charged, wandered into the bathroom, still wearing his lapel microphone. Seemingly unaware that the mic was still collecting audio, Durst went on a strange ramble.

"There it is. You're caught," he said. "What the hell did I do? Killed them all of course."

It is unknown whether Durst knew that this had been captured, or whether HBO took the recording to police. However, police did take Durst into custody on Saturday night under suspicion that he murdered his former confidant, Susan Berman.

"As a result of investigative leads and additional evidence that has come to light in the past year, investigators have identified Robert Durst as the person responsible for Ms. Berman's death,'' the Los Angeles Police said in a statement.

Durst’s microphone gaffe certainly isn’t the first of its kind. Here's a look of some of the most cringeworthy microphone gaffes of all time, captured by the media.

1) Barack Obama :"After my election, I have more flexibility."

2) Prince Charles: "Bloody awful...I can't bear that man."

3) George Bush: "Major league asshole from the New York Times."

4) Gordon Brown: "Bigoted woman"

5) Joe Biden: "This is a big fucking deal"

6) George Bush: "Yo, Blair!"

7) Ronald Reagan: "We begin bombing in five minutes."

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