Ruth Bader Ginsberg Dozed Off At The SOTU Because She 'Wasn't Sober'

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg fell asleep at this year's State of the Union address.

Many attributed the exhaustion to Notorious RBG's 81 years on this planet, but she explained on Thursday it was actually due to a beverage choice she made at dinner that night.

According to Politico, at an event hosted by the Smithsonian Associates in Washington, DC, on Thursday Feb. 12, Ginsburg said she took a nap because she indulged in an irresistible glass of wine at dinner.

She began,

The audience, for the most part, is awake because they are bobbing up and down and we sit there, stone faced.

This is because Supreme Court justices must refrain from clapping or displaying approval as the president speaks, whereas other attendees basically get to stand up and cheer whenever they want.

She continued,

But we're not, at least I was not, 100 percent sober.

Ginsburg then revealed she had just come from a dinner with the other Supreme Court justices to which Justice Anthony Kennedy brought a "very fine California wine."

She said,

I vowed this year just sparkling water — stay away from the wine — but the dinner was so delicious it needed wine.

Her granddaughter called her right after the address to tell her what she had just seen on live TV.

Ginsburg said,

She said, 'Bubbe, you were sleeping during the State of the Union!'

She dozed off at the 2010 State of the Union address as well, so when moderator Nina Totenberg of NPR first remarked that Ginsburg fell asleep this year, she replied,

As I often do.

Sitting next to Ginsberg at Thursday's event was Justice Antonin Scalia, who noted he hasn't been to a State of the Union address in several years.

Citations: I wasnu2019t 100 percent sober at SOTU (Politico)