ESPN reporter Britt McHenry is under a whole lot of criticism after she verbally assaulted a tow-truck worker and berated her over her physical appearance. In the surveillance video, obtained by TMZ, the 28-year-old ESPN reporter can be seen and heard pulling the “don’t you know who I am card?” She said, “I’m in the news sweetheart. I will f***ing sue this place.”
She goes onto antagonize the worker saying she has “no education” and no “skill set.” She then asks the worker if she feels good about her job. She says, “Do you feel good about your job? So I could be a college drop out and do the same thing…I have a brain and you don’t. Maybe if I was missing teeth they would hire me.”
The video ends with McHenry telling the work to “lose some weight, baby girl,” as she storms off. That is the comment that is enraging many people. According to TMZ, a powerful obesity group, The Obesity Action Coalition, is lashing out against ESPN and McHenry. The OAC was reported disgusted when they watched the video, and they are calling for something to be done about it.
James Zervious of the OAC says, “It was wrong and very inappropriate.” They don’t care that McHenry apologized on Twitter either. The ESPN reporter said, “In an intense and stressful moment, I allowed me emotions to get the best of me and said some insulting and regrettable things. As frustrated as I was, I should always choose to be respectful and take the high road. I am so sorry for my actions and will learn from this mistake.” What a great statement from her publicist!
The OAC goes onto say, “Britt should apologize to the woman directly. I think the apology on Twitter was more about explaining herself to her employer and the people who follow her. The fact remains she made a comment about someone’s weight. She wouldn’t have done that with any other disease. If she was battling cancer, she wouldn’t attack that. But she attacked her weight.”
They end with saying they would love to speak with Britt directly, because they feel that she could “benefit from some expertise and knowledge about obesity and weight bias.”
ESPN responded to the situation by suspending McHenry for one week. We just can’t believe that an ESPN reporter tried to pull the “I’m a Journalist, don’t you know me,” card. You read sport scores from a teleprompter. You are easily replaceable.
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