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.”
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
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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.
I mean, you’re delusional if you think women never make comments like this.
Also probably sexist.
Y’all are fragile little beasties.
Definitely sexist.
Riiiiggghhhttt.
Have at it I guess.
Do you think it would be appropriate to say “it’s always women who do x” and then call any women who disagree “fragile little beasties”?
If it were always women doing it and predictably always women throwing a fit when abuse were talked about? Yeah. Next question.
Yikes.
Eeexcept it’s really not like that. Next rebuttal.
Nice dehumanizing language. You might not be the hero you think you are, just FYI
Thanks for thinking I’m trying to be a heroine. You’re wrong ofc, but good try.
The world is going to devour you lmao. Good luck with high school!
I’m in my 60’s.
Maybe you should stop guessing you know me cause you’re not very good at it.
Maybe you never matured. Maybe you’re regressing. Who knows.
It’s high-school level dynamics, regardless
You’re out here guessing things about ~half the population of earth lol
Then fucking act like it, child
Luckily people won’t need to deal with your sexist views for much longer
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That’s exactly why there’s entire store shelves dedicated to selling magazines preying on insecurities about how men look, shows like househusbands of Atlanta, the Kardashian brothers, and why
womenmen are known for talking trash about each other’s appearance in the workplaceUgh, the blind hypocrisy here has reached The Office level… Sweeping generalizations and prejudgements based on sex, by someone claiming to condemn sexism.
Our society has made leaps and bounds in women’s rights and equality, but there’s still so much room to grow and improve. I am a man, and I believe there is still an unfair advantage to being both white and male sex. I believe this is due to inherent explicit and implicit sexism and racism that still permeates our society.
But you are making sweeping generalizations that you claim as a fact. Cite yourself then. Find some reputable research that supports your sexist claims.
There’s a difference between making statements as I have done above vs asserting sweeping generalizations as fact, as you have done.
The historic sexism against women doesn’t mean that in any given situation, men are default at fault, or the greatest offender by number. It’s especially absurd here, where you are making it out like women do not have conflict with one another.
Were you homeschooled all your life? Do you live in a bubble? This is a blatantly false and truly absurd statement that everyone can laughingly dismiss, based on countless counter-examples throughout their personal lives.
The most cunningly ruthless insults I’ve ever heard in my life have all been from women, who I considered to have more emotional intelligence than the average man.
I don’t know… maybe you’re just trolling and I bit…
Haaaaaaave you ever watched TV? Just turn on Bravo at almost any point in the day and watch the reality TV women saying mean shit about other women all damn day. And those shows are primarily watched by women.
I agree there’s a huge problem and it disproportionately affects women and it is disproportionately men causing it. And that’s worth talking about and fighting against. I’m ready to take responsibility and fight this where I can, despite not being affected myself. But blaming all men is useless. What should we do, put all men in prison? No, we need to make sure women are protected and men are properly educated, and that men who do digusting shit are properly punished. We need to raise awareness about toxic masculinity. When people blame me and badmouth me for shit that other people did wrong that’s sexism.
it is disproportionately men causing it
citation needed
You don’t even notice how toxic you are. Delicious.
“Think about the comments that you post”
Think about the comments you post.
Think about the comments you post
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.”
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
Sexist comment. Way to ruin your post OP.
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.
I don’t need you to give me advice on how to be successful. If I am looking for it, I’ll ask, thank you.
The rest of your reply doesn’t even merit a reply.
You’re on an open forum, expect anyone to be able to speak to you if you post. I am free to do so. I disagreed with your use of the phrase dogpiling, and replied as such
Your replying at all declares the merit. :^)
You can tell these people really hate it when they don’t get the last word in.
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It blows my mind how much the boomers and this current teen/early adult generation seem to have in common… A real step back in technological literacy, critical thinking skills, and ability to scrutinize reputable sources.
Also like many of the boomers is their inability to handle dissenting information/evidence counter to their internalized beliefs. They just shutdown and reorient themselves with comforting information/reassurance seak from their in-group (e.g., FB, reddit echo-chamer).
This is my subjective perspective of course, and I want to point out I’m not asserting it as fact like a jackass.
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.
I seriously doubt the majority of comments come from men. That it’s what they fixate on, is a different matter.
