THIS is the shocking moment a news reporter slapped herself in the face on live television leaving colleagues baffled.
Andrea Crothers – a journalist for Channel 9 Today Show – was covering flood waters in Brisbane, Australia when she got swarmed by mosquitoes.
Startled by the buzzing assailants, the reporter almost sent herself flying away as she slapped her own face.
In a clip, Andrea could be seen trying to compose herself with a microphone in her hands in front of the camera.
But she then got attacked by the annoying bugs that landed on her nose.
In a desperate attempt to get rid of the winged intruders, the journalist smacked herself with a force that sent her tumbling.
Andrea then rushed off the camera as her colleagues in the studio could be heard laughing.
To make matters worse, the video was replayed on the show multiple times as the hosts found the incident to be hilarious.
One of the hosts, Karl Stefanovic, said: “A funny thing happened today. Andrea Crothers, who is one of our great reporters on the show, she’s been covering the flood waters in Brisbane – a terrific job…
“But it’s very muggy up there, wet weather, and along with all those conditions come the awful [bugs].
“So here she was, confronted on air during a live report.”
They then replayed the clip several times and even slowed it down as the people in the studio couldn’t contain their laughter – with one shouting “Bullseye”.
The hosts poked a friendly fun at Andrea while they praised her dedication to the craft.
“The dangers reporters throw themselves in to bring you the stories at home,” Karl added.
Another colleague of Andrea’s left a tongue-in-cheek comment about the reporter having a weapon against mosquitoes right in the palm of her hands.
“She doesn’t need a bug spray, she has a weapon right here,” she joked pointing out at her hand.
Online viewers have also been amused at the video, with one person saying Andrea’s fire slap was so precise that she’d “almost knocked herself out”.