A male viewer who criticized a news anchor received a commendable response
LESLIE HORTON – The news anchor from Global Calgary calmly responded to a male viewer who commented negatively on her appearance.
During a live traffic report on December 7, 2023, Leslie Horton received an email from a male viewer that appeared in the station inbox. Leslie paused her reporting and announced that she would respond to the recently received email. The email read, “Congratulations on your pregnancy; if you’re going to wear old bus driver pants, you have to expect emails like this.
Leslie Horton, an anchor for Global News Calgary, a Canadian media company, gracefully responded during the live broadcast, explaining that she is not pregnant and highlighting her battle with endometrial cancer in 2021. “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’s offensive to you, that is unfortunate. Think about the emails you send,” she said.
Leslie received praise from netizens for her calm and authentic response. She emphasized that women in the broadcasting industry often face hurtful comments about their appearance, clothing, and more but usually ignore such attacks, even though they can be emotionally burdensome.
Global Calgary shared the video clip on social media, and Leslie received overwhelming support from people worldwide. She has also been invited to speak about the issue by various news outlets in North America. Netizens called her a hero, and many shared their own stories of online harassment and bullying.
Michael Kehler, a masculinities research chair at the University of Calgary’s Werklund School of Education, commented that incidents like these underscore the long-standing issue of some men feeling entitled to judge and belittle women. He applauded Leslie’s response, stating that it was appropriate and that it’s time for everyone to stand against misogynistic, homophobic, transphobic, and other shaming behaviors exhibited by online bashers.
