A morning news anchor used her platform to rebuff personal attacks on her weight and address the issue of bullying on Tuesday.
Jennifer Livingston, an anchor for the CBS affiliate WBKT-TV in LaCrosse, Wis., responded on-air to a letter she received from a viewer criticizing her weight.
The letter’s author said Livingston was setting a poor example for children, especially girls, by being overweight.
Livingston responded by identifying the author as a bully and urging viewers to “not let their self worth be defined by bullies.”
She was wise to use her position as a television anchor to address the issue of bullying.
Remember when Tyra Banks used her television program as a platform to refute claims that she had gained too much weight? Some people, children especially, look up to television personalities. An address by someone such as Livingston could inspire many viewers — bullying should not be tolerated.
Many of Livingston’s remarks were also praiseworthy.
For instance, she said bullying is a cycle that sometimes is perpetuated by parents, which is accurate. Parents who call their TV anchor, neighbor or co-worker “fat” are leading a bad example for their children.
A child who hears his or her parent call someone “fat” might think it’s socially acceptable to go to school the next day and call his or her classmate, teacher or principal “fat.” This attitude from parents contributes to children’s perceptions of what is acceptable behavior.
That being said, there was some important information that Livingston left out of her address Tuesday.
Livingston’s husband mentioned on Good Morning America the next day that Livingston has tried to lose wait but has a thyroid condition that makes it difficult for her to do so, according to an article on ABC Wednesday.
Why didn’t Livingston mention that in her address? Was she afraid that people would think she was making an excuse? For whatever the reason, the fact that she has tried to lose weight but physically cannot do so should have been mentioned Tuesday.
The address would have been stronger had she said exercising, while good for promoting a healthy lifestyle, isn’t always the cure.
Looking forward, it would be interesting to see how other television networks will respond to Livingston’s message if at all.
She reminds us that words sting and should be chosen more carefully, especially in the presence of impressionable children.