Moment TV journalist faces sexual harassment from a driver during a live broadcast and says ‘abuse of female reporters needs to stop’ (but some claim she’s being too sensitive)
- Canadian journalist Krista Sharpe was heckled during a live broadcast in Ontario
- The reporter shared footage of the sexual harassment, which appeared to come from a passing white car
- Abuser is heard saying: ‘f*** her right in the p****’ with Sharpe clearly left shocked – the phrase was used in a fake news report which went viral in 2014
- Sharpe tweeted: ‘As much as I’d love to say it doesn’t bother me, it does. It makes me feel like s**t – the clip has now been watched more than 2 million times
A television reporter has shared a clip of abuse she received from a passer-by in a car during a live outdoor broadcast, saying: ‘This still happens to female reporters and it needs to stop’.
Canadian journalist Krista Sharpe shared a video clip on Twitter on Monday following the report for CTV News in the town of Kitchener in Ontario.
A man in a car driving behind the reporter is heard shouting ‘f*** her in the p****’ at Sharpe, apparently in reference to a meme that went viral in 2014.
Clearly shocked, the news journalist looks over in the direction of the car before trying to compose herself.
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This is not funny and it¿s not cool. As much as I¿d love to say it doesn¿t bother me, it does. It makes me feel like sh*t. Especially as VJ who is always alone. This still happens to female reporters everywhere and it needs to stop. pic.twitter.com/NsqJJsrOno
— Krista Sharpe (@KristajSharpe) January 18, 2021
Canadian journalist Krista Sharpe was subjected to sexual harassment during a live broadcast in Ontario. After she posted the clip online Ms Sharpe said the incident had made her feel like s***
‘This still happens to female reporters and it needs to stop’ Sharpe is seen looking visibly shocked by the abuse; some two million people have now watched the clip online
Later she posted the footage to Twitter, saying the moment had made her feel like ‘s***’.
She wrote: ‘This is not funny and it’s not cool. As much as I’d love to say it doesn’t bother me, it does.
‘It makes me feel like s**t. Especially as VJ (video journalist) who is always alone.’
Sharpe added: ‘This still happens to female reporters everywhere and it needs to stop.’
More than 2 million people have since watched the clip and the incident is being investigated by Waterloo Regional Police.
Thousands have responded to Sharpe’s tweet, defending her right to broadcast safely without harassment.
@SeanPrevil wrote: ‘I’m sorry that you had to deal with this. I’ll never understand why immature people think this is funny, it’s not, it’s just stupid.’
@PennyDaflos added: ‘This is harassment at the workplace and should be handled the same way as a postal worker or teacher or healthcare worker faced with such comments.
‘Journalists do our work in public but that doesn’t mean abuse of any kind should be tolerated. I’m sorry you had to deal with this.’
@also_learning penned: ‘I didn’t understand what was shouted, but obviously, it was offensive – I’m so sorry you are subject to these insults.
‘I hope that if it happens again, the camera person could pan to the individual screaming; at the very least, they should be identified and publicly shamed.’
@DaRealDanBaulch added: ‘My heart breaks for you and every woman who has to put up with this. It shouldn’t be this way. The pain on your face…I’m sorry.’
Some pointed out that the heckler was referencing a fake news broadcast that went viral in 2014.
@GeorgeResch wrote: ‘This is dumb, and immature, and stupid. But “f*** her right in the p****” is a meme, and was not directed at you, or any other woman, specifically. It’s something dumb kids scream at newscasters in the background, seen it happen to plenty of men too.’
Others said they thought Sharpe should be prepared that members of the public aren’t always pleasant.
@JessicaNGooch tweeted: ‘Both sides. We can teach kids the right way but do they always listen? Give her tough skin to know that Freedom of Speech isn’t always nice. My 14y/o knows this…’
@step4battle added: ‘You gotta toughen up. We just had a raccoon with horns do some kind of chant while storming the Capitol. It’s not gonna change in your lifetime.’