A Morning anchor in La Crosse, Wisconsin for WKBT-TV is speaking out after a male viewer wrote in a letter calling her overweight.
Last Tuesday, Jennifer Livingston spoke out on-air and acknowledged that she knows she is overweight. She said according to ABC News, "To the person who wrote me that letter, do you think I don't know that?" She also added to her supporters, I will never be able to thank you enough for your words of support and for taking a stand against this bully," she said. "We are better than this email. We are better than the bullies that will try to take us down."
Livingston read the letter out loud on air in which viewer, Kenneth W. Krause said according to US Weekly, "It's unusual that I see your morning show, but I did so for a very short time today. I was surprised indeed to witness that your physical condition hasn't improved for many years. Surely you don't consider yourself a suitable example for this community's young people, girls in particular."
He added, "Obesity is one of the worst choices a person can make and one of the most dangerous habits to maintain. I leave you this note hoping that you'll reconsider your responsibility as a local public personality to present and promote a healthy lifestyle."
Livingston who is a mother of three children was outraged and her story made mainstream media.
The Huffington Post reported that she added at the end of her speech on air, "I leave you with this: To all of the children out there who feel lost, who are struggling with your weight, with the color of your skin, your sexual preference, your disability, even the acne on your face, listen to me right now. do not let your self-worth be defined by bullies. Learn from my experience - that the cruel words of one are nothing compared to the shouts of many."
Livingston's husband, Mike Thompson, who is also an evening anchor at WKBT-TV defended his wife on Good Morning America saying, "What really angered me more so than his attack on her not being a role model for the community is that he doesn't know Jennifer. He doesn't know me. He doesn't know our family," Thompson said. "He doesn't know that Jennifer has ran triathlons. He doesn't know that she ran in a race last weekend, a 5-K race. She works out two or three times a week. She is going to run in a race this weekend. He doesn't know that."
See the video of Livingston speaking out against the letter on air below:
