Anchor’s rant heavy viewing
Email criticizing weight sparks on-air speech to comfort bullied youth
MILWAUKEE— Jennifer Livingston has always rebuffed personal attacks, so when the Wisconsin television anchorwoman got an email from a viewer criticizing her weight, she thought nothing of it.
Then she thought of her daughters and other children who may not have the same emotional shield.
Livingston, the sister of Golden Globe-nominated actor Ron Livingston, took to the airwaves Tuesday to respond to the email during a four-minute segment on WKBTTV in La Crosse, Wis., calling the writer a bully. She urged young viewers not to allow such people to define their self-worth.
She didn’t identify the man, who wrote that he was surprised to see her physical condition hadn’t improved for years, and hoped she didn’t consider herself an example for young people. Kenneth Krause who wrote the email, told the Associated Press that his emails had nothing to do with bullying. Livingston, in broadcast journalism since 1997, said at least 1,000 people have posted supportive messages on her Facebook page while others sent her emails. She said many wrote that they wished someone had stood up for them, some saying they were bullied years ago “and it still haunts them today.” “It’s not what this one particular man said to me,” the 37-year-old said in a phone interview. “I am just shocked right now that the words of one journalist in small La Crosse, Wis., can make such a loud roar.” In his initial email, Krause wrote that “obesity is one of the worst choices a person can make,” then urged Livingston to “reconsider your responsibility to present and promote a healthy lifestyle.” In her TV response, she acknowledged she was overweight but said the man’s words were cruel. On air, she said: “To all of the children out there who feel lost, who are struggling with your weight, with the colour of your skin, your sexual preference, your disability, even the acne on your face, listen to me right now: do not let your selfworth be defined by bullies.”