A Vancouver Canucks Reporter Thanked Supporters After Facing 'Scary' Hate On Social Media
A Vancouver Canucks reporter shared a message of thanks with her supporters and Canucks fans after receiving hurtful comments on social media.
In a tweet on February 22, Kate Pettersen, who is the Canucks' rinkside reporter, called out a couple of messages that were sent to her about her appearance and how she does her job.
Pettersen shared those comments publicly on X (formerly known as Twitter), and called social media a "scary place."
"The same guy tweeting about swearing on tv being inappropriate for his kid watching sports thinks it’s ok to tweet awful things about my appearance and the way I do my job when he’s never met me or spoken to me in his life…?" Pettersen wrote in one of the tweets.
"Or, the Vancouver realtor who suggested that I’m terrible at my job and should try only fans?" she added.
"What kind of world do we live in that people feel it’s ok to bash strangers via a keyboard? Makes me sad… Very, very sad."
Many people flooded the comments section on both posts, sharing supportive messages with Pettersen.
One person called Pettersen a "great addition" to the team and thanked her for "all the hard work."
Another person told Pettersen to not "let the trolls take over."
One X user told the Vancouver Canucks reporter she was doing an "amazing job" and added that it's "becoming more scary to be a woman who's a fan of sports or who works within sports."
On February 23, Pettersen posted a follow-up message saying she had seen the "kind words" people had been sharing.
"It's nice to know the food people definitely outnumber the mean ones!" she wrote.
Then on February 24, the reporter posted a video message sharing that it had been a difficult few days due to some "bad people writing nasty things."
"I've got thick skin. It happens all the time. It shouldn't. People shouldn't write awful things about strangers. But the reality of my job is it happens all the time," Pettersen said in the video.
She added that last week it seemed to be worse than normal and it impacted her more than it normally would.
"Thank you to every single person who reached out. Every single Canucks fan who wrote kind things because I read every single one of those and it restored my faith in humanity."
"I went from lots of tears and being really upset to feeling really valued and special and that kindness goes so far."
Pettersen also added a plea for kindness online and asked that people refrain from writing awful things that they would never say to a person's face.
Narcity reached out to Pettersen for a comment, but we did not hear back by the time the story was published.
This isn't the first time a Canadian reporter has publicly called out comments they've received about their appearance.
In November 2023, Leslie Horton, who is a traffic reporter with Global News Calgary, shared an email she was sent from a viewer who asked if she was pregnant and then criticized her wardrobe. Horton responded to that email live on-air during a broadcast.
Horton not only received messages of support from viewers but several celebrities as well, including Jamie Lee Curtis, Grey's Anatomy actor Giacomo Gianniotti and Michelle Pfeiffer.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
