Overweight News Anchor Responds to Bully (4-Minute Inspirational Video)

Overweight News Anchor Responds to Bully (4-Minute Inspirational Video)

In this video, news anchor Jennifer Livingston responds to a nasty letter she received from a viewer about her weight. Wow, this woman is such an inspiration. I envy her strength and her thick skin.

 

7 comments

  1. That’s remarkable! What a brave and impressive woman. However many times one tells oneself that one is not defined by appearance, it’s still very easy to judge both oneself and others in that way. What an incredible chutzpah of the man to write her a letter like that – for all he knows, she’s on medication which affects her weight, or she used to be much larger and is making a big effort to slim more. Whilst I agree that maintaining a healthy weight is important, it’s obvious from where he says about being a role model particularly for girls, that that isn’t his main concern, but her external appearance is. I found her message and approach very inspiring – thanks for posting it!

  2. What an example of healthy self-esteem. Yes, we need to be healthy, but it was not his job to comment on her weight. It is an effort train ourselves to look past the exterior but that is part of our mission to seek the inner dimension of everything.

  3. Hmmm…I dont usually reply, but the email was very respectful and accurate. It was not vicious and he was not against chubby, but rather a terrible trend. She is a public figure and does bear that responsibility. I dont know- seems like a further attempt to shift responsibility.

    • Overweight isn’t always (and perhaps not even in the majority of cases) a symptom of laziness or poor food habits.

      Your response is indicative of a general stigma against those with different body shapes, bone structure, and metabolism.

      If this news anchor, or anyone else, fat or skinny, is encouraging unhealthy lifestyle choices such as a regular diet of fast food and lack of exercise, they should be taken to task. But barring that, discriminating against someone for their body shape is unfair and cruel.

    • I think that in today’s weight-conscious society, it’s almost impossible for a woman to be overweight and not feel bad about it–for appearance, for health, whatever. I, for one, don’t believe this anchor was not affected by this email, despite her self-professed thick skin. Whatever the reasons for her obesity, there is absolutely no to’eles in calling her attention to it, no matter how respectfully.
      When I was 14, a doctor’s comment to me that I was overweight (I wasn’t, I was just very athletic and broad-shouldered) sent me into a summer-long anorexic spree that left me with digestive issues for years. There is just no need for anyone to tell a woman in western society that she is overweight, period.

  4. You go girl!!!

  5. Hey friends, think before you react!Just bec she labeled the email as “bullying” — is it really so? Why not just “critical”? I looked up Merriam-Webster’s definition of “bully” : a blustering browbeating person; especially : one habitually cruel to others who are weaker.

    She has power, fame, influence, prestige. We don’t even know who he is….Don’t think she is in a weaker position than him, except that he can hide and she is out on display.
    Also, she did not at all at all address the reason for his email. He didnt write that she is ugly or repulsive. Didn’t see any ATTACK. He questioned her sense of communal responsibility, as a role model in the public eye.
    Everybody got so carried away being POLITCALLY CORRECT, jumping on the latest fashionable campaign of condemning all sorts of behaviors as “bullying”–when [1] it aint happenin’ here; 2] the discussion should be whether a public figure has a responsibility to promote good health awareness by presenting a healthy look.
    While obesity may be an external appearance issue, it does, after all, carry health risks. {But maybe we should all watch the anti-stress TED talk on this site to have an easier time with wt control and health!]

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