Overweight News Anchor in Wisconsin

MiniCooperDeb
MiniCooperDeb Posts: 48 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Your thoughts on the response from an overweight news anchor in Wisconsin to a critical email she received from a viewer? "Weigh" in, please...

Replies

  • fishergreen
    fishergreen Posts: 109 Member
    Where in Wisconsin? I hadn't heard about it.
  • MiniCooperDeb
    MiniCooperDeb Posts: 48 Member
    I believe it was LaCrosse, but I'm not sure. The video's gone kinda viral. It's even on cnn.com home page this morning.
  • tnmyers23
    tnmyers23 Posts: 108 Member
    This is the youtube video of her response. I think that the person who sent the email is in the wrong. She loooks in the mirror everyday and knows what she looks like. A bully is a bully.


    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUOpqd0rQSo&sns=fb
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
    This is the youtube video of her response. I think that the person who sent the email is in the wrong. She loooks in the mirror everyday and knows what she looks like. A bully is a bully.


    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUOpqd0rQSo&sns=fb
    All the issues going on in the world....
  • SueGremlin
    SueGremlin Posts: 1,066 Member
    The guy who wrote that email is rude and stupid. It's not her responsibility to be a "role model" to anyone. I don't know if I see that as bullying as much as I see a stupid person venting inappropriately at someone. Either way she has the right attitude.
    If I don't like the color of someone's dress, that is my problem. Same applies for his not approving of her physical appearance. He's a *kitten*.
  • tnbryan
    tnbryan Posts: 2 Member
    I was cheering her on the whole time! What am amazing response with such an important message behind it.
  • zela
    zela Posts: 92 Member
    I don't understand why she finds offense to a man trying to help her prolong her life and serve as an example. She could have used this as an opportunity to take charge of her life and inspire others.

    Watching television from my home in Europe, I find that it is much more acceptable to make a comment that man made to public figures, and people criticized usually acknowledge it. Every form of honesty if offensive to ones emotion is considered bullying over here.. if you told her she was fit and healthy she would be happy and wouldn't call the man out as a terrible human because he is lying?
  • scagneti
    scagneti Posts: 707 Member
    I would have prefered that she use the opportunity to explain the difficulties in losing weight (especially for a busy mom of 3) and challenge his notion that she's "unhealthy" simply based on her appearance. Not that I expected blood tests or confidential doctors notes up on the screen, but maybe just indicate that a stick thin newsperson isn't necessarily healthier than she is.
  • Birdie
    Birdie Posts: 256 Member
    I think the guy is rude and hides behind an email like a coward. He would never say that to her face. But I think her commenting and practically in tears is exactly what he wanted. She said his opinion doesn't matter and didn't hurt her, but it obviously did very much. If she would have just deleted it with no comment he would have never got the satifation of hurting her feelings. And I don't think for one minute he was trying to help her or others.
  • martintanz
    martintanz Posts: 280
    Agree it is rude and cowardly. Notice the letter writer picks on a female news anchor. Why not a retired overweight football player, or coach working as a sports commentator?

    And come to think of it, sexist, too. Following up on the whole football coach thing, I would venture to say that the plurality, maybe majority of big time college and pro football head coaches are at least overweight, with many being morbidly obese. So, has anyone written a letter to these guys sayiing that as a leader of young men, they need to set a better example? I doubt it. Why? Probably because coaches are former football players and are built like...football players. Not pro bike riders, or long distance runners. So if almost nobody expects pro football coaches to be built like Lance Armstrong, why are females supposed to fit into one, perhaps, unattainable physical mold?
  • SueGremlin
    SueGremlin Posts: 1,066 Member
    I don't understand why she finds offense to a man trying to help her prolong her life and serve as an example. She could have used this as an opportunity to take charge of her life and inspire others.

    Watching television from my home in Europe, I find that it is much more acceptable to make a comment that man made to public figures, and people criticized usually acknowledge it. Every form of honesty if offensive to ones emotion is considered bullying over here.. if you told her she was fit and healthy she would be happy and wouldn't call the man out as a terrible human because he is lying?
    Unsolicited advice is rarely welcome. What he said was socially inept and rude.
  • soulfulsally
    soulfulsally Posts: 326
    I don't understand why she finds offense to a man trying to help her prolong her life and serve as an example. She could have used this as an opportunity to take charge of her life and inspire others.

    The guy who wrote the email was just being nitpicky about her weight. He even tried saying she was a bad role model for the community and to young girls simply because of her size. If he really wanted to help her, why not compliment her on what a good news anchor she is and how he hopes she is taking her health seriously because he looks forward to many years watching her on TV? Why tell her she's a bad role model to her viewers because of her size? Shaming people usually doesn't work.
  • beckajw
    beckajw Posts: 1,728 Member
    This is the youtube video of her response. I think that the person who sent the email is in the wrong. She loooks in the mirror everyday and knows what she looks like. A bully is a bully.


    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUOpqd0rQSo&sns=fb

    I wouldn't call someone a bully for speaking the truth. The news anchor is overweight and she knows it. The person who stated it in an email is not a bully. We are using that word way too much.

    However, my thought on it was, doesn't that person have anything better to do with his life? Why waste the time writing someone an email telling them that they are fat? They already know they are fat and pointing it out isn't going to change anything. Why not take that time and energy and volunteer at a local charity?

    Too many people feel that it is their place to judge others. If we would all just focus on ourselves, the world would be a better place.

    As for the news anchor, she has the right to comment about comments she receives. However, once again, why bother? Why not use your time to better the world?
  • SueMizZou
    SueMizZou Posts: 139 Member
    The guy who wrote the email is a moron. A TV news person is much less of a role model than the idiotic sports idols that do all manner of reprehesible things then deny any responsibility for them. It isn't fun being overweight and there are a lot of factors that contribute to it. As everyone on this site knows, losing weight is hard and very time consuming. I'd love to see what the email writer looks like.
  • lowlevelrebel
    lowlevelrebel Posts: 75 Member


    As for the news anchor, she has the right to comment about comments she receives. However, once again, why bother? Why not use your time to better the world?

    I'd argue that trying to make the world an easier place for those who look different *is* bettering the world. By speaking up she's telling kids who are overweight that they can follow their dreams to be a tv journalist, that just because they might not fit into a certain perception of an acceptable appearance that they still have self-worth and should not be cowed, sticking to careers that take them out of the public eye. Concern trolls like the letter-writer, if he actually believes what he's writing, should be told that what they're doing is not acceptable, not helpful, and not useful. People's bodies shouldn't be public spaces. And that kind of thinking stops with actions like hers.
  • RunsOnEspresso
    RunsOnEspresso Posts: 3,218 Member
    This is my hometown. I used to see Jen on the news everyday. I never thought about her weight. She was a news anchor who did a good job.

    I applaud her. She received unsolicited "advice" (I'm sure we have all had this experience) and responded. I'm sure he wasn't expecting her, or the community, to respond in such a way. She was going to brush it off.

    Her husband, another news anchor at the station, posted the email (and did not identify the man) on facebook and received an outpouring of support from the community. Obviously LaCrosse does not have a problem with a news anchor who may be a little overweight. They have a problem with a man who thought it was his business.

    We don't know where Jen or Ken (the email writer) are in their journey. We don't know where anyone is on their journey.

    I also find it funny that this came out during Oktoberfest when most LaCrosse residents are drinking too much beer and eating too many brats. Nothing against Oktoberfest. I miss it. Its not the same in Arizona. LOL
  • happycauseIride
    happycauseIride Posts: 536 Member
    I don't understand why she finds offense to a man trying to help her prolong her life and serve as an example. She could have used this as an opportunity to take charge of her life and inspire others.

    Because it's no body's business why she is at the weight she is at. He is not a family member or close friend. He, or anyone else for that matter, had no right to judge her that way. It was rude and he was just doing it to be mean. Using this "as an opportunity to take charge of her life and inspire others" would be giving in to him and reassuring him his behavior is OK. It's not. We don't know her and her story. There are many reasons that people are over weight and it's not any ones job to tell other people to lose it. It's her decision that only she can make when she is ready.
  • ihad
    ihad Posts: 7,463 Member

    Because it's no body's business why she is at the weight she is at. He is not a family member or close friend. He, or anyone else for that matter, had no right to judge her that way. It was rude and he was just doing it to be mean.... We don't know her and her story. There are many reasons that people are over weight...

    ^^^^^ This. Exactly what I was going to write.
  • BL_Coleman
    BL_Coleman Posts: 324 Member
    I find it more disturbing b/c of the fact that she is female is mentioned as is her role model to young girls. Yes , she is overweight. Did he offer tips to help her, words of encourgament...NO. He bascially said girls are not allowed to be fat, and you are setting a bad example...
  • gottaluvya
    gottaluvya Posts: 16
    Her JOB is to deliver the news, NOT to a be a role model...for anyone! To say an overweight person should not be on TV is just downright ridiculous. How are we supposed to teach our kids to be kind ot everyone if it is still acceptable to pick on the fat folk? Not to mention, he does not know her. Sure she may be a big girl, but how does he know what she does when she is off-screen, in her own personal life? I know...to look at me, most folk would assume I am a fat, lazy person who is constantly stuffing her face...when the reality is I work out almost every day, try to be careful with what I eat and I am STILL fat. Its not right for folks to go around assuming that every overweight person leads an unhealthy lifestyle and should be shot on sight. People come in different colors, shapes and sizes and nobody should begrudge anyone based simply on the way they look.
  • optionalsourcewins
    optionalsourcewins Posts: 457 Member
    I think that guy was a complete and utter idiot!! Bravo for the news anchor!! I commend her for how she handled the situation in publicly exposing him as a bully. Being a wife, mother, and working full time is not easy. I do it every day and I only have one 2 yr. old - she has 3 children!! I would love to see who that guy is just to see what his life is like. He probably does a fraction of what she does all day.
  • happycauseIride
    happycauseIride Posts: 536 Member
    The news station that she works for identified the man who sent the e-mail and asked for an interview. He declined, but this was his response...

    <WKTB said Kenneth W. Krause submitted the following statement in response to Livingston's editorial:

    "Given this country's present epidemic of obesity and the many truly horrible diseases related thereto, and considering Jennifer Livingston's fortuitous position in the community, I hope she will finally take advantage of a rare and golden opportunity to influence the health and psychological well-being of Coulee Region children by transforming herself for all of her viewers to see over the next year, and, to that end, I would be absolutely pleased to offer Jennifer any advice or support she would be willing to accept.">

    What a complete jerk. He totally doesn't think what he did was wrong. Unreal.
  • kramalicious
    kramalicious Posts: 143
    She is an impressive, assertive woman. Each person has to choose this journey for themselves. Nothing worse than a reformed (fill in the blank).
  • slkehl
    slkehl Posts: 3,801 Member
    "Weigh" in, please...

    Nice one *claps*
  • Jynus
    Jynus Posts: 519 Member
    I don't understand why she finds offense to a man trying to help her prolong her life and serve as an example. She could have used this as an opportunity to take charge of her life and inspire others.

    Watching television from my home in Europe, I find that it is much more acceptable to make a comment that man made to public figures, and people criticized usually acknowledge it. Every form of honesty if offensive to ones emotion is considered bullying over here.. if you told her she was fit and healthy she would be happy and wouldn't call the man out as a terrible human because he is lying?
    I'm a large man with a decent level of muscle mass. As such I'm going to die younger than most other humans. Want to be old and healthy? Be genetically small, eat very little and be very thin with cardio thrown in. I instead want to look large, strong and muscled, so I accept my fate of early death. Who are you to judge?

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