Suddenly losing consciousness is a terrifying experience for anyone.
Just ask these people who blacked out in front of a live audience.
Viewers of one particular Saturday morning broadcast of "CBS Los Angeles KCAL News" were
left concerned for meteorologist Alissa Carlson in March 2023, when she suddenly fainted while
being introduced for her weather forecast. Within seconds, she'd also slumped to the
floor. The network, which immediately switched to a commercial break, later stated on its website
that staff "jumped in to help and comfort her while waiting for medical help to arrive."
While CBS Los Angeles also took to X, formerly Twitter, to reassure audiences
that the meteorologist was recuperating, Carlson herself took to Facebook to say:
"Thanks for all the texts, calls, and well wishes. I am going to be ok!"
Shortly after, the one-time Miss California revealed
on-air that she'd been diagnosed with a condition known as vasovagal syncope,
in which fainting is caused by a rapid drop in blood pressure and heart rate, per CBS News.
Wendy Williams not only had to deal with passing out live on air while
filming an episode of her eponymous talk show,
but she also had to deal with the skeptics who believed that the whole thing had been a stunt!
While filming a Halloween episode of "The Wendy Williams Show" in 2017, the star suddenly began
to feel dizzy — understandably so, considering she was sporting a weighty Statue of Liberty costume
under the studio's bright lights. And although she tried to power through, the heat eventually got
the better of her. Remarkably, Williams managed to recuperate in time to finish the rest of the
show. But in a subsequent episode, she was keen to dispel rumors that she'd been play acting.
"The costume got hot. All of a sudden right before passing out,
I felt like I was in the middle of a campfire."
The former shock jock, who was discovered to be low on electrolytes by paramedics,
thanked everyone who'd expressed concern.
Elianis Garrido, an actor, dancer, and TV personality, worried everyone watching the
Colombian show "Lo Sé Todo" in March 2023, when she suddenly slumped to the floor. The
first sign for viewers that something was wrong occurred when the 30-something used
her hands to shield her face — soon after, she collapsed off of her chair and onto
the floor. Garrido subsequently received medical attention for respiratory issues.
When Garrido, who thankfully made a full recovery,
took to her Instagram Stories a few days later, she thanked her fans for their concern
Following the incident, another presenter on the Canal 1 show
revealed that the sudden climate changes had left her colleague feeling ill with
a nasty cough in the days leading up to the dramatic on-air fainting.
In July 2022, British TV presenter Kate McCann was hosting a Conservative party
leadership debate between Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss that got cut short in dramatic style.
McCann's live TV faint actually happened off-camera. It was only when Truss,
halfway through answering a question,
suddenly stopped talking that viewers became aware that something had gone wrong.
"He's going to challenge the freedom and democracy…"
Talk TV, the channel hosting the political broadcast,
soon took to X to confirm what had happened:
"Kate McCann fainted on air tonight and although she is fine, the medical advice
was that we shouldn't continue with the debate. We apologize to our viewers and listeners."
McCann also thanked everyone who'd sent her well wishes,
before apologizing to both Sunak and the eventual winner, Truss,
for halting their screentime. She kept a sense of humor about the scary blackout, too.
"Good evening. I'm Kate McCann, and after all the excitement from last
night's leaders debate, thank goodness I'm now sitting down."
Just a few hours before hosting one particular episode of the Portuguese
show "Super Quiz" in 2016, Erica Cardoso asked her Instagram followers for advice on curing a
cold. But the star soon showed that her ailments extended beyond a runny nose.
Cardoso had previously requested some water from the show's production team,
having expressed her discomfort at the heat she was experiencing. And shortly
after introducing one particular caller, she suddenly blacked out.
Luckily, Cardoso made a full recovery and was back in the studio the next day. She told viewers:
"Thank you for all the messages and comments of affection that I have received throughout
the day today. I couldn't be more grateful. A kiss and see you again tomorrow, good people."
In July 2023, former goalkeeper Shaka Hislop was giving his insights into
the match between Real Madrid and AC Milan on ESPN's "Sunday
at the Rose Bowl" when he suddenly lost his balance and keeled over.
Co-host Dan Thomas — who could be heard requesting medical help for
Hislop after the shocking incident took place — took to X soon after to inform
viewers that Hislop was conscious and being looked after by medics. During half-time,
the presenter added that the former sportsman was more embarrassed than anything.
"He's conscious, he's talking, I think he's a little embarrassed about it all.
He's apologized profusely. Not a man who likes people to make a fuss of him."
Noting that he'd spoken directly with Hislop's wife, the relieved broadcaster
stated that things were looking good for Hislop and that everything appeared to
be alright. Hislop also appeared briefly a short while later to thank Thomas and
everyone on the scene who helped him in that frightening moment.
"I know now that even when we argue and disagree,
I have the fullest support of each and every one of you."
Consumer tech expert Cassie Slane is no stranger to live TV,
as she frequently appears on daytime talk shows to provide insight into various apps
and products. But a 2012 QVC appearance left her — and audience members — a little shaken.
Slane was busy promoting a child-friendly tablet when she started patting her chest,
displayed signs of breathing difficulties, and lurched towards QVC presenter Dan Hughes. As
the cameras quickly cut away from the duo, Hughes asked if she was okay. Slane later praised Hughes'
undeterred handling of the situation, telling "Today" that it was a mark of his professionalism.
Responding to a viewer query about Slane's welfare on Facebook, the network stated:
"Our on-air guest Cassie had a brief fainting
spell. We are pleased to report that she is feeling fine now."
Slane herself also took to Facebook the day after to let her followers know that she was thankfully
feeling much better. But as then-QVC presenter Carolyn Gracie referenced in a since-deleted
Facebook post, this unfortunately wasn't the first time such a thing had happened:
two years prior, Slane had suffered another on-air collapse. Gracie wrote:
"She had a couple of fainting spells due to low blood sugar. Poor thing. She is such a nice girl."
Julie Yoo, a presenter on Singapore network Channel News Asia, was reporting on the
climate change talks held by the United Nations' COP27 in November 2022 when she
experienced a sudden rush of blood to the head and fell out of frame.
In a CNA statement released to the press, a spokesperson for the channel explained that
Yoo had fallen ill due to a combination of low blood sugar and dehydration. They added,
"She will be resting tonight and will be back on air tomorrow. We
would like to thank everyone for their concern."
Yoo, who received medical help following the incident,
was working on the channel's "Asia Tonight" show at the time. But she is best known for
her co-hosting role on "Asia First," CNA's most prominent morning show.
It seems like talking about the weather on live TV is some sort of trigger for
a fainting spell. Alongside CBS Los Angeles' meteorologist Alissa Carlson, BBC weatherwoman
Rachel Mackley has also passed out while discussing the nation's favorite subject.
And proving her British credentials, she did so in the most unfailingly polite way possible.
Mackley was appearing on regional bulletin "South East Today" in 2016 when she started
to fall backwards after saying, quote, "I'm so sorry, I'm going to faint."
Mackley was given treatment at Pembury Hospital, and told her own X followers
just a few days later that she'd recovered and was well enough to head back to work, quipping,
"Can't wait to be back at work. Non fainting weather reports to commence soon..!"
Turkish anchorwoman Seda Selek ended up making the news herself in 2012, when she fainted during a
live bulletin broadcast for the Kanal 24 network shortly after she started to visibly look unwell,
dizzy, and understandably worried. As she faced the cameras in a split screen,
Selek fell back and audibly hit the studio floor. Luckily, another journalist in the studio was only
yards away in reality and was able to quickly leap into action and aid the ailing presenter.
The Marmara University graduate later confirmed that a drop in blood pressure
was responsible for dramatically cutting her workday short. The Turkish press reported that
she was indeed given the go-ahead to return to work after being checked over by medics.
Russian reporter Daria Kozlova inadvertently sparked a conspiracy theory in 2018 when
she fainted during an interview with the Kremlin's Minister of Industry and Trade,
Denis Manturov. Indeed, the Daily Mail reports that some viewers believed she'd
been hypnotized by the Vladimir Putin-appointed government official due to her sudden collapse.
The incident happened at the Russian Ministry of Defence's Army-2018 exhibition in Moscow
as Kozlova — appearing to slur her words during the line of questioning — started
asking Manturov about the state-owned tech company Rostec. Seconds later, however,
Manturov was forced to save her from hitting the floor when she suddenly began to fall backwards.
After coming around, Kozlova was reportedly handed a drink of water,
with a spokesperson later saying that she was thankfully making a full recovery.
Turkish native Abdulkadir Ünal no doubt wishes he'd stayed at home rather than
powering through his bout of influenza after he fainted during a 2017 political
interview. The editor-in-chief of Kanal 5 Television was feeling unwell long before he
arrived on the studio floor. But he apparently believed that the chance to grill Mehdi Eker,
the deputy chairman of the AK Party, was too big an opportunity to miss.
Unfortunately, Ünal didn't get the chance to ask many questions. The journalist soon slumped from
his chair onto the floor, prompting producers to swiftly switch to a commercial break. The chairman
of the news agency later reassured audiences that the incident was nothing too serious, saying:
"This is the first time we have experienced something like this. We sent our friend to
the hospital. It's probably a flu infection. He's tired too. He may have been faint for
this reason. Do not worry viewers. Our friend is in the hospital, treatment is ongoing."