Weatherman Has Panic Attack on Live TV in Emotional Viral Video
"Sorry if I gave anybody a bit of a scare there."
Published Aug. 13 2024, 3:10 p.m. ET
In what fans are calling the most "seamless and grown-up" way they've ever seen a mental health issue handled in media, an Australian news service has gone viral for what happened when its weatherman had a panic attack live on air.
Below, we take a look at the video that has been making the rounds on TikTok, and which has garnered praise for ABC News Australia and its on-air talent.
A weatherman had a panic attack on air, and his colleagues' reactions have stunned viewers.
At the start of the video, weatherman Nate Byrne can be seen giving the weather report, talking about the rainfall to come. As he's talking, he very calmly transitions into telling viewers that he needs to take a moment for his panic attack.
"And we're going to see lots more rain in the days ahead," he says. "I'm actually going to stop for a second. Some of you may know that I occasionally get affected by some panic attacks, and actually that's happening right now. Lisa, maybe I can hand it back to you."
"You certainly can, Nate," his colleague Lisa Millar immediately responds, not missing a beat. She then goes on to mention that Nate wrote a great article for ABC News Australia's website about his experiences with anxiety, including a previous panic attack on live TV. "It's fantastic that he's been so open and transparent about it," Lisa adds, noting that Nate's piece sheds light on "some of the things that go on with our brains and our bodies when we're doing live television."
The video then cuts to later on in the live program, after Nate has rejoined his colleagues on a couch. "Very pleased to say that our wonderful colleague Nate is back with us," Lisa says.
Nate, seated to her left, says, "Hey! Sorry if I gave anybody a bit of a scare there."
Lisa responds, "Yes. Not really, because you've been very honest before about getting panic attacks on air, and it's so great for people to know that it can happen to anyone."
From the other end of the couch, their colleague Michael Rowland humorously jumps in with, "You gave me a scare because I thought I'd have to finish doing the weather report, and I'm no good at that," to which Nate gives a big laugh.
Nate then went on to thank his gracious colleagues "for helping out."
The reactions to the weatherman who had a panic attack have been massively supportive.
"This is the greatest, seamless, grown-up media handling of simple mental health realities I’ve ever seen," wrote one TikTok user under ABC News Australia's post about the incident.
"Wowowowowowow the immediate support and understanding of his co-workers just jumping in seamlessly and normalizing this situation made me so emotional as someone who also deals with this," someone else commented.
"Being vulnerable is so scary but also so empowering! Thank you for being so transparent and honest with us, you're not alone!!" wrote another.
