Reporter Brianna Hamblin was "disgusted" after being harassed. Photo / Brianna Hamblin/Twitter
Reporter Brianna Hamblin was "disgusted" after being harassed. Photo / Brianna Hamblin/Twitter
A video showing New York reporter Brianna Hamblin being verbally harassed as she prepared to go live on air has gone viral.
The footage, which Hamblin posted on her Twitter page, has been viewed more than five million times so far.
It shows the Spectrum News Rochester reporter standing onthe footpath while getting ready for the live video to start, when a man asks not to be filmed and another man tells her "you look really nice, though".
She reacts politely, but then the next comments made her visibly uncomfortable: "You beautiful as hell. God damn."
When quizzed as to why she is being filmed, she tells the man to "go find a TV and watch Spectrum News" to find out. The comments then become more sexual and offensive, and even racist, but still Hamblin attempted to politely shut the man down.
"Being hit on and harassed as a woman, especially as a woman reporter out in the field, happens so often you learn how to roll with it or ignore it," she wrote.
"This time it happened to be recorded only seconds before my hit. There are a lot of things wrong with this."
Reporter Brianna Hamblin was "disgusted" after being harassed. Photo / Brianna Hamblin/Twitter
In a series of tweets, she outlined exactly what the issues are, in her eyes.
"1. If you don't want to be on camera, simply avoid it or ask nicely to not be on camera. Don't walk towards it or make a scene. Who said this was about you?
"2. 'Oh, men these days just can't give compliments.' No. The first man's 'you look nice' as he continued to walk away is fine. It's the second man who took this to another disgusting level it didn't need to be.
"3. The audacity of the things men say to me never ceases to amaze me. What makes you think women want to be talked to that way? In no way is this endearing. It's uncomfortable. It's gross.
"4. Being a Black woman in this industry has its own headaches, but talking down on one group of women to 'praise' another group is never okay. It just shows you have a disgusting fetish based on stereotypes, which is just as racist.
"Oh wait! One more thing: I was lucky I had @barstow_scott with me. At my last job, I had to deal with this type of stuff alone, like most women MMJs. It's not safe. It's scary. But the convo about the dangers of reporters working alone is for another day."
Twitter users reacted with shock at the video, and also praised Hamblin for how she handled the situation.
One wrote: "So sorry. This hurts to see. You were a consummate pro."
