WATCH: News anchor makes excruciatingly awkward 'Chewbacca' noise during Carrie Fisher tribute

A Brazilian news anchor has attracted attention around the world for all the wrong reasons after an on-air joke about the death of actress Carrie Fisher fell flat, leaving his fellow panelists in a stunned, awkward silence.

Mediaite reported that anchor Jorge Pontual was pretending to quote Star Wars character Chewbacca the Wookie when he let out a guttural moan during Tuesday evening's broadcast on GloboNews.

Fisher passed away on Tuesday at age 60 after a massive heart attack left her in intensive care. The actress and author was most famous for her role in the Star Wars films.

“Many people telling how much they loved Carrie Fisher, many celebrities remarking on this loss,” Pontual said. “But the most emotional reaction was from Chewbacca, that Star Wars character. He said, ‘HHHGGRRRRGRAAAARRR.'”

The other panelists and an in-studio host all froze for a moment in stunned silence before resuming the broadcast.

The immediate media uproar prompted Pontual to post a photo of Fisher as Leia hugging Chewbacca on Twitter.

Watch the video, embedded below: