Australian journalist slams viewer who said her outfit was inappropriate for reading the news
An Australian journalist recently put an anonymous viewer on blast after she received a highly sexist email regarding her on-screen attire. Narelda Jacobs, a newsreader and presenter for Network 10, revealed in an Instagram post that her entire studio had received unwarranted feedback from an individual who deemed one of Jacobs’ recent outfits “inappropriate for reading the news.”
In Jacobs’ Instagram post, the journalist shared a screenshot of the email, which also included the sentence: “Cleavage is for the nightclubs.” In the caption, Jacobs wrote: “Yes, we still receive emails like this. Yes, it went to the entire newsroom. Yes, I was on air at the time. Yes, it is intended to shame and humiliate me. No, what I’m wearing is not inappropriate but your email sure is.”
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Jacobs received a lot of positive comments, many of which called out the blatant sexism and misogyny this user had shown. One netizen wrote: “File under ‘When you really hate yourself, so you decide to email random strangers to tell them.’”
Another posted: “Breaking news: some women have boobs. Deal with it.” “That comment is pathetic. Probably jealous someone as smart, kind and beautiful as you is giving us our news instead of them,” another user noted.
Interestingly, a number of other journalists and newsreaders also commented on Jacobs’ post, sharing how they too have been victims of this kind of sexism.
Giaan Rooney, a former Australian TV personality, wrote: “Yep. The number of emails the newsroom used to get attacking everything about my appearance when I was presenting the weather was incredible.”
Moreover, Tracey Spicer, a motivational speaker and journalist, shared: “Gah! It’s bloody ridiculous. I used to get letters like this almost 35 years ago. Appalled that it’s still happening. Sorry Narelda. You are an excellent news presenter and journalist.”
While these circumstances will likely continue to occur in the future, it’s nice to see so many strong women take the time to support one another—especially with the prevalence of so many idiots still out and about in the world.
