News anchor stuns viewers as she appears to fall ASLEEP during live broadcast

A Tennessee news anchor stunned viewers after she appeared to fall asleep during a live broadcast. 

Dominique Dillon, an anchor for Fox 13 in Memphis, was spotted seemingly nodding off for a brief moment on Wednesday morning. 

The anchor was seen with her eyes closed and her hands around her neck as the camera cut from her colleague Shelia O'Connor who was giving a report. 

An Instagram user posted the video of Dillon to the platform, saying: 'Y’all! DOMINIQUE DILLON got caught SLEEP ON CAMERA, FOX 13 Good Morning Memphis!! I’m hollering.'

After the video went viral on social media, her colleague Ernie Freeman posted to Facebook making a joke about the moment. 

He shared a selfie of the two, with Dillon smiling with her eyes closed as she rested her head on her hands – clearly mocking the moment. 

Freeman captioned his post: 'Now that 'The Big Show' is over, it's time for Dominique Dillon to catch another nap,' he ended his post #StayWoke. 

She then shared the picture to her own Facebook, writing: 'Couldn't even give me a nudge,' adding that her other colleague Brittani Dubose 'had my back though.'

Since it has been shared, social media users have come to Dillon's defense with users pointing out she recently had a baby girl and only returned to work in April. 

One person said: 'Those morning shifts are so challenging. Let’s give her some grace and support.'

Another commented: 'Leave her alone. She has a baby and the regular anchors are always off.'

'Mind you she’s a mom of two, a baby and a toddler while doing full reporting in Memphis. 

'Baby it’s HARD! She’s [sic] does a phenomenal job, and so I understand her to the T. It’s not easy', another added. 

Dillon was recently promoted to anchor the channel's weekend newscasts while also reporting for 'Good Morning Memphis' midweek, The New York Post reported. 

She joined the station in 2019 after previously working for KTAL in Texarkana, Texas.