Celebs Are Rallying Around The Canadian Journalist Who Called Out A Viewer Comment On Air
A video showing a Canadian journalist calling out a viewer's email on air has not only gone viral, but the reporter is now receiving support from some of Hollywood's biggest stars.
American actress and producer Jamie Lee Curtis shared a video of Global News Calgary traffic reporter Leslie Horton responding to an email which asked if she was pregnant and then criticized her wardrobe.
In an Instagram post on Wednesday, Curtis posted a video of Horton, seemingly applauding what the Canadian journalist had to say to the remarks.
"This news anchor was body-shamed by a viewer. This was her response," text over Curtis' video reads.
People have been commenting non-stop since Curtis shared the clip, including fellow big-name celebrities.
"Special place in hell," Grey's Anatomy actor Giacomo Gianniotti responded.
"Bravo!" I Am Sam actress Michelle Pfeiffer wrote and added several clapping hands emojis.
"Oh my goodness, queen!" Game of Thrones actress Gemma Whelan also commented.
Horton's story went viral last week after TikTok user @sarantium shared a video of what Horton said during the news broadcast.
"I'm just gonna respond to an email that I just got saying 'congratulations on your pregnancy, if you're gonna wear old bus driver pants you have to expect emails like this,'" Horton says in the clip.
"So thanks for that. No, I'm not pregnant. I actually lost my uterus to cancer last year and this is what women of my age look like so if it is offensive to you, that is unfortunate. Think about the emails that you send."
Since then Horton's story has also been picked up by international news outlets like The Daily Mail, New York Post and People.
The Canadian traffic reporter has addressed all the attention the story has received while speaking to Good Morning America on Wednesday.
Horton told the outlet she typically dismisses rude or negative emails, but this one took it too far.
"It is a man [who] has been sending nasty emails for about four years now [...] it's been a pretty constant stream of emails," she told GMA. "And when I got that email during our show, last Wednesday morning, I had a visceral response to it. And I was hurt, angry."
"And I was partly determined that I was clear that this was not an appropriate thing to say. The aim of the email was to hurt and humiliate. And shame me."
GMA reports Horton was diagnosed with endometrial cancer in December 2021. She is now cancer free.
This is at least the third time in the past year that a Canadian journalist has dealt with viewer criticism and addressed it publicly.
In January 2023, Tess van Straaten, a news personality with CHEK News in Victoria, B.C. received a message from a viewer who called her sleeveless dress "inappropriate" to wear while reporting on weather in the winter.
In December 2022, Kathy Le, a news anchor for CTV Calgary who was pregnant at the time, received a complaint from an angry viewer on Twitter.
"C'mon, get this woman off TV. We tolerate it up to four months. Please," the person wrote.
Le had a great response and noted that she hoped it "pissed him off more" every time he saw her on TV.
