Exhausted FOX13 news anchor, mom of 2 goes viral for dozing off on-air
Aug 8, 2026, 5:00 AM
A morning news anchor and mom of two is going viral after appearing to briefly fall asleep during a live broadcast.
In a video posted to social media, FOX13 Memphis anchor Dominique Dillon appeared to have her eyes closed and her head resting on her hands while a reporter delivers a live report from elsewhere in the city.
Laughter can be heard from the person recording the clip. The internet had plenty of jokes, but a lot of parents had something else: empathy and a massive wave of support.
Dominique talked with NBC’s Today Show and shared the back story about what happened.
“So the night before, my husband, he worked a double at BNSF Railway. I have a two-year-old. I have an eight-month-old, and I was trying to get them down to sleep at 8 o’clock, but my eight-month-old, she wasn’t having it,” Dillon said. “She was teething, and I just couldn’t console her. I gave her some teething medicine, and nothing was working. Next thing you know, it’s 10:30, 11 o’clock before I can actually get her down to sleep. Then all I have is a couple of hours of rest before I have to be up in the morning and be at work.”
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Any parent juggling young kids, early shifts knows the feeling
As someone who also works in morning news and has three young kids, I can relate. I instantly understood and felt Dominique’s fatigue.
She talked about what went through her mind upon realizing she had dozed off.
“They didn’t think I was sleeping,” Dillon said. “They thought I was simply looking down at my tablet. Yeah, because who falls asleep in one minute sitting up in front of cameras? I was looking at myself under the desk, like this has to be a nightmare, like one of those work nightmares.”
Here’s the thing about parenting and morning radio and television: they’re both endurance sports. Put them together, and you’re basically training for an ultra-marathon.
Our morning reporter Luke Duecy asked me last week, “What’s the hardest part of parenting?”
Without hesitation, I said bedtime.
Because even though I wake up extremely early, bedtime is also when the night shift begins. My son needs water. My daughter has to go to the bathroom. If my toddlers don’t want to go to sleep, bedtime can drag on.
I have to say, the morning anchor Dominique deserves a medal. Not for falling asleep, but for showing the reality of being a working mom.
Read more of Katrina Guischard’s stories here.
