Who is Andrea Crothers? All about Australia’s Today Show reporter who goes viral after slapping her own face

Andrea Crothers, a Channel 9 Today Show journalist, gained widespread attention after a video went viral capturing her attempt to swat away a mosquito, resulting in an unintended self-slap.

The Australian news reporter was on location reporting the recent flooding in Brisbane when the insect landed on her face and took her by surprise. In her attempt to shoo away the mosquito, her aim was slightly off, and the swift movement ended up with an unexpected and somewhat forceful slap to her own face, as per Metro.

The video soon went viral, and she recalled the incident with her colleagues the same day at the studio. She also wore a mesh black veil the next day, making light fun of the situation herself.

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TV presenter Andrea Crothers slaps herself in the face during live reporting

Andrea Crothers is currently working as a Television Reporter for the Channel 9 Today show in Australia. The video of her slapping herself in the face went viral in the first week of February.

Crothers was in the rural town of Dirranbandi in Australia’s Queensland region to cover the recent flooding in Brisbane. The incident occurred when a mosquito landed on her nose, prompting a moment of panic. After swatting it away, she darted off camera to make sure the insect wasn’t following her, as per The New York Post.

The event garnered a lot of attention, however, Andrea Crothers' colleagues were not as concerned as her. They found the situation quite amusing, as per The Sun. Host Karl Stefanovic covered the incident while laughing with other hosts in the studio,

“A little funny thing happened today, Andrea Crothers, who is one of our great reporters on the show, she’s been covering these 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] as a sound of mosquitoes was played. So here she was, confronted on air during a live report."

Andrea Crothers also took part in making fun of herself the day after the viral video aired. She wore a mesh headpiece during the live broadcast, quipping that it was approved by human resources. She said,

“I'm OK guys, HR said I could wear this as long as I didn’t file for worker’s compensation for punching myself in the face."

Prior to her role at Channel 9, Andrea Crothers served as the Breakfast Producer for ABC Western Queensland, based in Longreach, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. She began her career in media at Queensland Country Life (QCL), affectionately known as the Bible of the Bush.

She lives in Brisbane, Australia, however, her job saw her spend much time hitting the road and roaming across rural Queensland. Andrea Crothers found her passion for the camera at QCL and was a finalist in the PANPAS 2015 Australian Newspaper of the Year Photography Award, as per ABC's website.

The reporter has spent a lot of time covering news in the field. Her profile explained how she is fond of adventure, and that led her to stints at Katherine, Northern Territory, and as acting editor in Mount Isa during her time with Fairfax Media.

After leaving Fairfax, Andrea worked as a freelance journalist. During that time, she lived on her family’s irrigated cotton, broadacre dryland cropping, and mixed livestock property near Dirranbandi.

She is a keen journalist and writer who has worked for News Corp's national agricultural masthead, The Weekly Times and has written for APN News & Media, Graziher magazine, SBS, and The Sunday Mail, as per The Sun.