Celebs Caught Falling Asleep On Live Tv

Even A-list stars need to catch a few Z's every now and then, but their berserko schedules make eight hours of sleep nearly impossible. With that in mind, it's no wonder so many bold-faced names have been caught falling asleep on live TV — at award shows, during interviews, and to the palpable delight of hawk-eyed Twitter denizens everywhere. (The internet never sleeps.) You may think celebrities are "always on," but it's time to wake up and smell the coffee. Pop star Bruno Mars evidently nodded off at the 2017 BET Awards. Oscar-winner actor Morgan Freeman appeared to lose consciousness during a joint interview with fellow acting icon Michael Caine. Meanwhile, legendary entertainer Harry Belafonte swore he was simply in the middle of a meditation session. (Hey, whatever helps you sleep at night.)

Curious to know more about some of the stars who took a "time out" live on the air? Well, pour yourself some Sleepytime tea, curl beneath the comforter, and make yourself comfortable. We're going to read you a little bedtime story entitled "Celebs Caught Falling Asleep on Live TV." 

Deny, deny, deny. That was Morgan Freeman's strategy after the actor apparently fall asleep during a remote interview on Q13 Fox's This Morning show (per Vanity Fair). Really, who can blame him? At the time, co-star Michael Caine was waxing poetic on the subtle art of stage magic, a central theme in the film Now You See Me. Throughout the interview, Freeman's body language all but screams, "And Now You Don't." The actor appeared unable and/or unwilling to keep his eyes open as Caine chatted with anchors Bill Wixey and Kaci Aitchison. According to Vanity Fair, Freeman did, at least, manage to "sporadically awaken to nod convincingly," which is the key to winning at life.

The gaffe certainly appealed to magazine editors, inspiring The Guardian to christen Freeman "the man who can do interviews in his sleep." Freeman's publicist also seemed to be on high alert, emailing The Wall Street Journal an ironclad explanation from Freeman: "I wasn't actually sleeping," he said. "I'm a beta tester for Google Eyelids. I was merely taking the opportunity to update my Facebook page."

In December 2012, X Factor Season 9 winner James Arthur demonstrated that he also possessed The "ZZZ" Factor. Shortly before the crooner was to be interviewed by Lorraine Kelly on the ITV program Lorraine, the cameras cut to the green room, capturing the singer most definitely asleep beneath a smart-looking coat. As the Daily Mail reported, the previous evening had been a late one for Arthur, as he'd been out celebrating his big win until the wee hours of the night. 

During the subsequent interview, Kelly asked Arthur if he got any rest the night before. "Maybe," he cryptically responds. "I definitely haven't had the most sleep I've ever had." He claimed he had not yet come to terms with his victory, and the whole thing felt ... like a dream? "It hasn't sunk in yet," he says. "I was very overwhelmed and I think that's why my reaction was so still." As for why his reaction was "so still" in the green room — that's because Arthur was extraordinarily asleep.

Since we're already on the subject of publicists earning their keep, let's turn our attention to this rousing rumor regarding legendary musician Harry Belafonte. In October 2011, Belafonte's publicist, Ken Sunshine, tried to convince the world that his client hadn't just fallen asleep during a broadcast interview on California's KBAK-TV station. According to the New York Post, a scheduled "live remote interview" found Belafonte looking far from lively when cameras cut to the supposedly slumbering songsmith, prompting anchor Layla Santiago to shout: "Harry, wake up. This is your wake-up call!" She also felt the need to tell viewers, "He's okay, he is okay," and then burst into the chorus of "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)."

Following Belafonte's alleged on-air nod-off, Sunshine wrote an energetic statement to TMZ, blaming the musician's "literally hundreds of interviews" for the early morning meet-cute with the Sandman. Said publicist also pointed the finger at "a technical glitch in the feed" that amounted to a faulty "earpiece," which allegedly inspired Belafonte to "take the time to meditate." Perhaps sensing this excuse may be viewed as patently absurd, Sunshine doubled down, basically blaming all of us for our fast-paced, work-obsessed ways: "Maybe the world would be a better place," Sunshine said, "if more people took a moment to meditate."

We'll give that theory a whirl right now: Ommmmmmmmmmmmm.

In March 2016, ESPN reporter Brian Windhorst was seemingly having a tough time keeping his eye on the ball — or keeping his eyes open at all. As the Mirror reports, SportsCenter co-anchor Cari Champion was quizzing Windhorst on live TV about Oklahoma City Thunder player Russell Westbrook. Despite his encyclopedic knowledge of all things sports-related, Windhorst apparently needed to dig deep in order to find the answers: He "shut his eyes, looked down, and appeared to nod off," according to the Mirror.

Windhorst eventually responded to his colleague's question, but not before unblinking Twitter users began to suspect the talking head had transformed into a sleepyhead. One viewer tweeted: "To be fair to Windhorst, most of ESPN's programming puts me to sleep too." Eventually, the powers that be alleged Windhorst was merely "looking at his notes," with Champion taking to Twitter to pooh-pooh the notion that Windhorst had pooped out. Finally, Windhorst tried putting the issue to bed on Twitter: "When @AdamSchefter looks at his phone on TV he gets endorsement deals," he tweeted. "When I do people think I have narcolepsy."

Relaxation is a skill, but the ability to fall asleep on live TV is a gift. During an April 2015 visit to The Ellen DeGeneres Show, actor Tony Goldwyn reportedly fell asleep both "in front of the live studio audience" and in front of DeGeneres, according to the Daily Mail. The sluggish scene unfolded after DeGeneres asked if the rumors were true: Was he really, truly able to just fall asleep at will? "I take, like, tiny power naps before I do a scene," Goldwyn confirmed. "I do it when I'm working in the theatre. I try to fall asleep before I go on stage."

DeGeneres immediately asked for a live demonstration of this phenomenon, and Goldwyn was all too happy to oblige. Next thing you know, the actor was seemingly out like a lamp, leading DeGeneres to creep backstage with an impish finger to her mouth, urging the crowd to stay mum. The Daily Mail reported that this engrossing piece of performance art ended "about a minute" later. That's when DeGeneres jostled Goldwyn back to the land of the living and announced: "We're going to cut out all the talking part and we're just going to have you sleeping the entire segment."