Diane Sawyer acted bizarrely during her broadcasts on election night and caused people to speculate whether or not she was intoxicated. Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos were covering the elections last night and Sawyer’s strange speech and body mannerisms had viewers wondering if she had been drinking. Throughout the broadcast, Sawyer spoke very slowly and her speech was slurred. In addition, she was swaying and making erratic gestures. At one point, she addressed President Obama incorrectly. “I wanna — can we have our music, because this is another big one here? Minnesota, we’re ready to project Minnesota, rrright now. … Well, tonight we know that President Barack has won Minnesota,” she said during the taping.
People definitely noticed including a few celebrities. “I’ll have what Diane Sawyer is having,” tweeted singer Josh Groban. Scores of other people poked fun at Sawyer’s alleged intoxication. “You do it.’ ‘No, YOU do it.’ Producers fighting over who tells Diane Sawyer during the commercial break that Twitter thinks she’s drunk,” wrote Twitter user Karyn Spencer. “America’s big decision: NBC has an ice rink. ABC has drunk Diane Sawyer. There are two Americas tonight,” wrote tweeter Joseph Scrimshaw.
Someone even created a Drunk Diane Sawyer parody Twitter that tweeted a series of hilarious comments that were rife with misspellings and mentions of alcoholic drinks. “nothing to c here guys im ok d’ont worry abot me,” said the page. “hey guys wh o won i fell aslee?p.”
However, it wasn’t all fun and games. New York Times writer Brian Stelter logged on to defend his fellow journalist. “Diane Sawyer’s name is trending. Many people saying she seems drunk on air. Alternative theory: she gets this way when she’s really tired,” he wrote.
This isn’t the first time Sawyer was thought to have been intoxicated during a broadcast. In 2009, Sawyer’s behavior during coverage of President Obama’s inauguration sparked similar allegations. There has been no word from Sawyer or ABC News pertaining to the accusations.