Diane Sawyer, like most news and TV viewers joked

TV viewers joked that the ABC News veteran was drunk or on muscle relaxers.

People took notice of Diane Sawyer’s coverage of the presidential election on ABC News, but not necessarily in the way the veteran journalist intended.

While speaking with such colleagues as George Stephanopoulos and Barbara Walters, a number of viewers noticed what they believed to be Sawyer slurring words. Twitter lit up, and Sawyer became a trending term Tuesday night.

A number of people characterized Sawyer’s speech as resembling that of someone who had been drinking or taken muscle relaxes.

“Diane Sawyer's name is trending. Many people saying she seems drunk on air. Alternative theory: she gets this way when she's really tired,” tweeted.

The Secret Circle executive producer Andrew Miller tweeted: “Diane Sawyer is either drunk or doing her classic Julia Childs as Katherine Hepburn impression.

Find tweets of other reactions to Sawyer’s election night performance. Diane Sawyer, Slurring Causes Drunken Rumors. Diane Sawyer, like most news anchors and reporters, was exhausted last night. But Sawyer, who covered Hurricane Sandy in depth right before election night, may have taken too much onto herself, and it showed in a big way on air last night. Diane Sawyer slurring during her election night coverage sparked speculations that the Media news veteran was drunk or on muscle relaxes on the job.

Sawyer is battling rumors today that she was drunk or high during her coverage of the election after she slurred her words, repeated herself, and mispronounced Obama’s name. Reps for ABC say she was simply extremely tired, which accounted for her propping herself up on her hands against the desk at varying points during the broadcast.

Diane Sawyer Slurring Sparks Drunken Rumors. Reports said a number of viewers noticed Sawyer’s unusual behavior - slurring, rambling through her sentences, and acting drunk.

Some Twitter users were quick to react on Sawyer’s slurring, wondering if she indulged in an alcoholic beverage or had taken a prescription drug. She immediately became a trending topic worldwide on Tuesday evening.

Posted in: acting, Diane Sawyer, like, most news, Obama, TV viewers joked, worldwide