Zoom with a view: The humiliating times we saw much more than we needed to during webcam chats - from showering in front of the president to a mother flashing her son's classmates

During the pandemic, many workers turned their bedrooms, living rooms, and even bathrooms, into their makeshift offices.

Zoom became the ultimate hub for hosting meetings to weddings, and christenings to funerals.

Although the idea seemed ideal at the time - for those who prefer tackling daily life from the comfort of their sofa - the shift to the digital world came with its own set of problems for everyone connecting in real-time via webcam.

But even though many of us have now returned to the office, and attend gatherings held in public, the habit of slipping up and getting caught-on-camera seems to have trickled through the net.

From baring all on a funeral Zoom livestreams, to being filmed naked during a broadcast aired on live television, MailOnline has rounded-up the most memorable moments people have been caught in embarrassing situations online.

A PRESIDENTIAL BLUNDER

Back in May 2020, a businessman was left in a nightmare position after accidentally leaving on his camera while taking a shower during a Zoom meeting.

But it wasn't just any old meeting - the slip-up happened on a virtual conference call with Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro.

Hosted by Paulo Skaf, the president of the Federation of Industries of the State of Sao Paulo, the meeting consisted of around 25 members - including the head of state.

In hilarious screengrabs of the moment, a shirtless man - reportedly one of the federation's advisers - can be seen next to 24 stone-faced officials.

Skaf was interrupted by the President who spotted the naked man onscreen, local media reported at the time.

He reportedly said: 'Paulo, there's a colleague there in the last little square. He left, is he okay?'

The Minister of Industry, Paulo Guedes then said: 'There is a guy having a shower there, naked.

'There's a naked guy there, isolating naked at home, great.

'The guy was getting hot with the conversation, so he went to take a cold shower.'

Bolsonaro is said to have responded with: 'Unfortunately we saw. It was a shaky picture but we saw, unfortunately.'

Fortunately for the showering man, he was not publicly identified.

CLASS ACT

Also in October 2020, at the peak of the Covid pandemic, a mum from the United States accidentally flashed her young son's entire class when she strolled into the frame of the virtual lesson completely naked.

But to her shock horror - not only did the eyes of the school classroom witness the incident, but a clip of the moment circulated on social media and racked up a mega 5.5million views.

The young boy, named Tayvion, could be seen pointing to something behind him as he innocently showed his classmates and teacher's something in his room.

A few seconds later, his mother walks into the room nude while looking for something.

The teacher appears distracted as she attempts to wake a sleeping student, but once she realises there's a naked woman in Tayvion's frame, she switches gears and yells at the student to turn his camera off.

Once the mum realises she has been caught on camera, she quickly runs away, leaving the teacher and students (at least the ones who were awake) in shock.

The Twitter account Young Simba shared the video at the time, and wrote: 'Abolish Zoom classes man.'

People's opinions were left divided on social media as the accident began grabbing headlines.

Some were in hysterics, while other voiced their concerns.

'He’s like ah s** granny not again,' one person joked. 'I told you watch out when I’m on da Zoom.'

'I can’t stop laughing at this,' another added.

'I guess I'm the only one who doesn't think it's funny,' one person wrote. 

'He is too old for her to be walking around naked!! If that was a little girl with her dad nobody would be laughing smh.'

'Thank you the rest of these people are sick. Nobody should walk around naked in front of their kids. It's not NORMAL!!!' someone else agreed.

SHOWER SHOCK

Much more recently (to the horror of those who still use webcam on a regular basis) a businesswoman accidentally filmed herself naked in the shower in front of several other remote mourners.

But to make matters worse, the woman was attending the virtual funeral of a much-respected father-of-three who died after a long battle with cancer.

She had opened the Zoom window so she could livestream the service while getting washed.

But she was unaware she had switched the camera on - inadvertently broadcasting herself to other remote users.

The humiliating moment made it's rounds on social media after going viral on WhatsApp, and was even picked up by radio hosts Kyle and Jackie O on their show in Australia.

'Spare a thought for this poor woman... someone died in her family and she was only going to go to the wake. She couldn't attend the funeral,' host Kyle Sandilands said.

'But what they did do is they Zoomed people in that couldn't attend the service. Now unfortunately, the woman was running a little bit late so started to watch the Zoom service whilst in the shower.

DUCK AND COVER 

An unfortunate Jason Bowers, 35, from West Hollywood, California, did not experience the Hollywood-grade camera work he likely expected during a work Zoom call in 2022.

Instead, he was met with a naked husband and a startled colleague.

Hilarious footage captured the moment Jason was chatting in front of the camera before a stark naked man appeared in the background.

But instead of running out of the room, Jason's husband Damian Mlotkowski, dropped to the floor in an attempt to hide.

 At first, Jason was typing a message on his phone and didn't notice that Damian was in his weekly Zoom meeting — and that he was caught in the camera frame.

'I had no idea he was on a meeting,' Jason said of the mishap. 

'I was so focused on my message I was writing that I didn't look up so I couldn't see he was on a call.

'Damian was looking down at the time so he didn't realize I was coming in either,' he went on.

'As I was going into the room I began to realize that the voices I was hearing might be a Zoom meeting, to which then I looked up and, yep, I was right!' Damian recalled.

'I dropped to the floor because I was so embarrassed that they might have seen me naked, and by dropping to the floor they wouldn't be able to see me, hopefully.

'When I fell to the floor, I started laughing hysterically because I had no idea what they saw,' he said.

Luckily for the pair, Jason's two colleagues who were also on the call saw the funny side of the slip-up and laughed along with the mortified couple.

'That one time I naked video bombed my husband's Zoom meeting,' Damian wrote in a caption alongside a TikTok of the moment. 

'I’ll never live this down. PSA Be careful when walking around the house naked!'

THAT'S PANTS

It's not just average people who became swept up in the world of hilarious and horrifying on camera hiccups.

But councillors too.

A New Zealand councillor, Cr David Benson-Pope, shocked his Dunedin Council colleagues and viewers watching a livestreamed council meeting in May 2020, when he entered his study with his bare legs on show.

Dressed-up in a suit jacket and work shirt, the former Labour cabinet minister appeared to be not wearing any pants as he did a spot of cleaning with a feather duster during an adjournment as he waited for the meeting to continue. 

After footage of the moment began circulating online, the poor Benson-Pope was forced to clarify that he had in fact been wearing shorts as he he had just returned from gardening prior to the meeting.

He insisted his semi-clad cameo wasn't intentional but was 'delighted' the moment provided some much-needed amusement.

The councillor provided some solid advice to viewers following the slip-up, saying he learnt his lesson and urged others working from home during the coronavirus lockdown 'to make sure your camera is turned off when you think it is off' while on Zoom calls.

'I think it's probably appropriate to describe it as being caught with your pants down,' he joked to the Otago Daily Times in 2020.

NUDE BROADCAST

What could be worse than being caught naked on a Zoom meeting?

Being caught on naked on a Zoom meeting which was later broadcasted on live television.

This nightmare happened to one unlucky city councillor in Spain in July 2020.

Bernardo Bustillo, who worked as a part-time councillor for the Torrelavega community in Cantabria, northern Spain, decided to take a shower during the middle of a meeting but did not realise his camera was still on.

Bustillo was initially showering behind a translucent screen, meaning his private parts could not be seen by his eight colleagues in the call.

However, during a speech by Pedro Perez Noriega, the councillor for Economics and Treasury, Bustillo came out of the shower with no clothes on and quickly realised his error before moving back into the bathroom. 

According to Spanish news outlet 20 Minutos, the meeting was being shown live on Cantabrian television and the horror incident was witnessed by several local residents.

A recording of the meeting also shows Bustillo's colleagues shock seeing the councillor's naked body and one colleague can be heard saying: 'Tell Berni something, please. Can we log him off?'

Not something you want to hear from your colleagues after flashing the nation.

Bustillo later resigned from his role as Councillor for European Affairs and Citizens Participation, but said he was not ashamed of his body.

'Because of my job [as a swimming teacher] I have spent half of my life half-naked and I have never felt ashamed of other people's nudity and even less of my own,' he said at the time.

NOT-SO-COMMON MISTAKE 

From across the pond in Canada, a lawmaker was returning from a jog in 2021 before a virtual legislative meeting with the House of Commons.

But William Amos, 46, who represents parts of Quebec, failed to notice his camera was on as he stepped out of his running gear and into something more appropriate for his home office.

He was then spotted completely nude during the House of Commons meetings, flanked by a Canadian and Quebec flag on either side.

Amos, who is married with two kids, apologised for the 'unfortunate error'.

'My video was accidentally turned on as I was changing into my work clothes after going for a jog.

'I sincerely apologise to my colleagues in the House of Commons for this unintentional distraction. Obviously, it was an honest mistake and it won't happen again.'

 Luckily, Amos' revealing appearance was the subject of many jokes and mockery from his colleagues.

Bloc Quebecois Party Whip Claude DeBellefeuille mentioned the incident as a point of order during the meaning, ragging on Amos.

'It may be necessary to remind the members, especially the male ones, that a tie and jacket are obligatory, but so are a shirt, boxer shorts or pants,' DeBellefeuille said in French.

'We have seen that the member is in great physical shape, but I think members should be reminded to be careful and control the camera well.'