Spectrum News 1 released a statement after one of its female reporters complained about harassment on the job.
Brianna Hamblin, a news reporter for Spectrum News 1 in Rochester, New York, took to social media to slam the sexual harassment she receives from men while doing live remotes.
She shared a video that showed her discomfort as two men made remarks to her before she went live on camera.
A Black man said “you look nice by the way” to Hamblin as he walked by. She responded “thank you” before looking down at her cellphone.
Then a white man approached her and asked why she was standing in front of a camera. She told him to watch the news to find out.
He hurled crude remarks at her as he walked away, including “you’re sexy as f***” – to which Hamblin said “oh my god”.
Her cameraman, Scott Barstow, did nothing to stop the harassment.
Hamblin captioned the video:
“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. This time it happened to be recorded only seconds before my hit. There are A LOT of things wrong with this.”
The video went viral late Friday, garnering 3 million views by early Saturday.
Many Twitter users sympathized with Hamblin and suggested she find another job if she feels unsafe.
Spectrum News said in a statement provided to Mediaite:
“We are glad that Brianna wasn’t alone in the face of such adversity and we’ve never been more proud of her. She handled the situation impeccably, remaining calm and professional throughout. We want our employees to feel safe and are constantly working towards achieving that goal.”
According to sources, Hamblin is on desk duty while the news station works on a safe and supportive workplace plan for her.
WARNING: CRUDE LANGUAGE
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. This time it happened to be recorded only seconds before my hit. There are A LOT of things wrong with this. pic.twitter.com/5Ok58Vm7e0— Brianna Hamblin (@BriReports) July 23, 2021
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 2nd man who took this to another disgusting level it didn’t need to be.
— Brianna Hamblin (@BriReports) July 23, 2021
