1y ago

Calgary traffic reporter goes viral after response to body shaming comment

www.cbc.ca /news/canada/calgary/leslie-horton-calgary-viral-smackdown-weight-1.7053423

TV traffic reporter Leslie Horton has developed a thick skin over the years because of nasty feedback from viewers, but she unleashed a viral smackdown last week after she says one of them "crossed my line."

The usually unflappable host, who has been at Global Calgary since 1995, was about to give a live report on the morning show when she decided to read out a message she received during a break.

"I'm just gonna respond to an email that I just got saying, 'Congratulations on your pregnancy. If you're gonna wear old bus-driver pants, you have to expect emails like this,"' Horton said.

"So thanks for that," she responded. "No, I'm not pregnant. I actually lost my uterus to cancer last year. And this is what women of my age look like. So if it is offensive to you, that is unfortunate.

"Think about the emails that you send."

59 comments

I remember this exact same thing happened to another newscaster a few years ago. I remember her doing an on-air response to it which went viral, but I don't remember the details.
EDIT: Holy shit, this 2016 article details FIVE TIMES when it had already happened then- https://people.com/health/five-newscasters-who-spoke-out-about-being-body-shamed/
- Yeah. It's just as annoying now as it was back then, and in the aughts, the 90's, the 80's, the 70's and on and on ad infinitum.
  
  Definitely. I shouldn't be surprised that women in the news business have been regularly body shamed. I guess seeing this item come up when I'd seen the exact same story come up not that long ago jarred me. It was an unfortunate case of deja vu for a reason.

I wonder how much support Horton and other public-facing reporters get from their employers in response to online harassment (e.g., email/IP blocking, sending cease and desist letters, private investigation, psychological support). I haven't fully thought through the ramifications of those actions, but it seems to me that these reporters receive abuse because of the nature of their employment and thus it behooves employers to protect their employees. I suspect, however, the reporters are left to defend themselves and told "that's the nature of the job." But, if true, I think that lack of employer protection/support helps fuel this kind of harassment

OP is _ _________ ____ ___ _ _______ ____

"It is often said 'not all men'. But they are always men."
- Eh. The older I get, the more I realize that sex is not a good indicator of character.
  Sexists will disagree, though.
  
  In incidents like this, with rude comments about looks, it's always men doing it tho.
  And it's always men downvoting us women who point it out.
  Y'all are fragile little beasties.
- "Think about the comments that you post"
  
  Think about the comments you post.
- Right. That's why I once had to write up several women for writing really horrible things about the weight and appearance of a fellow woman co-worker on the ladies room white board.
  Women NEVER insult other women.
  
  There's a white board inside the bathroom? Why?
- This sounds like one of those statistics racists like to throw around about violent crime percentages.
- "It is often said 'not all humans'. But they are always human."
- Sexist comment. Way to ruin your post OP.
- STOP REPORTING THIS COMMENT! It doesn't break any rules.
  
  It is a quote from the sister of Giulia Cecchettin, an Italian woman who was murdered by her ex 3 weeks ago.
  “It is often said ‘not all men.’ “They are not all men, but they are always men” (she) wrote. “No man is good if he does nothing to dismantle the society that privileges him so much. It is the responsibility of men in this patriarchal society, given their privileges and power, to educate and call out friends and colleagues as soon as they hear the slightest hint of sexist violence. Tell it to that friend who controls his girlfriend, tell it to that colleague who engages in street harassment, harass those behaviors accepted by society, which are nothing more than the prelude to femicide.”
  
  How does this not fall under sexism? This comment and the rest of the follow ups below look to be clear cut violations of rule 1
- Wow, you got dog piled on for pointing out this simple truth.
  Thanks for fighting the fight. I'm a couple decades younger than you starting to fight the fight for the next generation of women as well.
  
  Pointing out the issues women face is completely valid. Even going so far as indicating that women receive a lot, or even a majority of this toxicity from men is totally fine too.
  But suggesting men are the only ones who talk trash is completely disingenuous and destroys credibility. Lashing out with juvenile comebacks like "you crying now?" Is the icing on the cake.
  Do better than OP if you want to be successful.
  Lastly don't attribute downvotes to "dogpiling" because the reality is they made a shit argument and supported it shittily. That earns downvotes from folks of all opinions.
  
  It's not the truth, though.
  Yes, maybe it is true that the majority of body shaming comments come from me. I don't know. But it is 100% not true that "it's always men." Hell, that's so easily disprovable that anyone who believes it is being willfully ignorant.

59 comments