Lisa LaFlamme Got Real About Her Career & Recalled Memories Of Not Being Taken Seriously
Former CTV National News anchor Lisa LaFlamme has spoken out about her career, her future plans and the perils of not being taken seriously in her long career as a reporter.
In a new interview with The New York Times, LaFlamme outlined starting her career in Kitchener, Ontario, and the barriers she had to break through to get to where she is today.
While LaFlamme was reluctant to provide details on her dismissal from CTV News last summer, she did start by mentioning all the love and support she got from the public since her termination.
"People are so amazingly kind," said LaFlamme on the topic.
"The support has been mind-blowing. It's really been a shock to me."
"The most comments I ever received were not for months in Baghdad or Afghanistan, or any story, but when I let my hair grow gray — bar none," said LaFlamme.
"And I will say this, 98 percent positive, except a couple of men and a woman — it's funny that I can actually remember that — but they were summarily destroyed on social media because women do support women."
In August of 2022, LaFlamme was ousted from her position as anchor of CTV National, with many alleging that her firing had to do with her age, gender and the fact that she had decided to let her hair go grey — something that Bell Media denied.
In the interview, LaFlamme provided a walk through her professional career, which started in her hometown of Kitchener.
According to the Times, she has "vivid memories of not being taken seriously" as a female reporter.
She cited some examples, like a time she walked past an office where three senior managers were laughing at one of her stories, and another example, when a male colleague commented on her outfit.
She also went on to say that, over the years, she's received letters from two male colleagues apologizing for their behaviour.
She discussed her decision to stop dyeing her hair during the pandemic's second wave, citing an older sister who inspired her and a female boss who supported the decision.
Apart from that, things have been busy for LaFlamme since the dismissal.
The journalist has been working in the non-profit space and even was sent to the United Kingdom to cover Queen Elizabeth's death and funeral for CityNews.
