Most people don't truly understand what it's like to work in broadcast news, especially if you have to actually be on television.
But that doesn't stop the trolls and the body shamers from coming out of their holes to chip away at the already thick-skinned journalists who deliver you the news every day.
Recently, Laura Warren from WRDW-TV, wrote a post on her personal blog, affectionately titled 'Bump, Baby, and Breaking News', about a female viewer, yes female, who body shamed her because she was getting to the point where she was "disgusting on the TV".
The unknown woman left a voicemail on Warren's phone and it was pretty unpleasant, to say the least:
"Please go to Target and buy some decent maternity clothes so you don't walk around looking like you got a watermelon strapped under your too tight outfits. Target's got a great line of maternity clothes in case you've never heard of such a thing. You're getting to where you're being disgusting on the TV."
Yeah, pretty rude.
In her blog, Warren admits to relinquishing her normally apathetic demeanor when it comes to comments like these because, well, she's pregnant.
"So, the thick skinned journalist in me who knows better than to give comments like this a second thought says, delete the voicemail and move on. Unfortunately, I'm pregnant, hormonal, currently not allowed to drink wine, and feeling extra in touch with my feminist side."
What mother-to-be wouldn't feel this way? Now, I know what you're thinking,
'Well, she's on TV, she should know that people will be critical, whether or not their opinions about how a woman dresses even matters.'
This is a load of nonsense and I'll tell you why. No one, whether you're on TV or a store clerk or a stay-at-home mom, no one is allowed to tell you how you should look or dress.
Warren went on to look through their archives to see what could have possibly prompted this stranger to leave such a revolting voicemail, and to be honest, the pictures she found of her outfits on air exemplified nothing but professionalism and an awesome fashion sense.
But don't worry, this has a happy ending. Warren ended her blog post with this positive message to herself,
"So, I think instead of letting this lady get me down, I'm just going to turn her negative energy into positive energy. I'm going to say as many nice things as I can to as many people as I can, and I'm going to do it in a dress that fits these beautiful new curves with my 'watermelon' stomach showing."
Which, to me, is the best response she could have come up with. And to all of the ladies out there who are about to be mothers, you keep dressing and doing what you do because no one should be allowed to make you feel bad about the way you look.
Warren's blog post and experience has been shared on countless media outlets such as People Magazine, Allure, TODAY and Glamour Magazine, to name a few.
You go Laura!
Catherine Park is an Associate Digital Producer at 11Alive News in Atlanta. She periodically writes about stories she finds on the internet. This one, in particular, got her "fired up!"
