Brianna Hamblin, a reporter for Spectrum News in Rochester, N.Y. showed the world what harassment sounds like in a social media post this weekend.
Hamblin, who has worked at Spectrum News since last August, was prepping for a stand up when two men walked by the camera and began talking to her while the camera was recording.
In the video she posted on Twitter, one man can be heard telling Hamblin she looks nice to which she replied “thank you.”
The second man then begins a one-sided conversation with Hamblin where he tells her she’s “beautiful as hell” and “sexy as F*&k” and at one point refers to her as “mulatto” while talking about how he prefers Black women to white women.
Hamblin called out men for the “audacity” of things they say to her. “What makes you think women want to be talked to that way?” wrote Hamblin. “In no way is this endearing. It’s uncomfortable. It’s gross.”
“Being hit on and harassed as a woman, especially as a woman reporter out in the field, happens so often you learn how to roll with it or ignore it,” said Hamblin. “This time it happened to be recorded only seconds before my hit. There are A LOT of things wrong with this.”
Hamblin thanked station photographer Scott Barstow for being with her during the incident. “At my last job, I had to deal with this type of stuff ALONE, like most women MMJs. It’s not safe. It’s scary. But the convo about the dangers of reporters working alone is for another day”
WARNING: CRUDE LANGUAGE
Being hit on and harassed as a woman, especially as a woman reporter out in the field, happens so often you learn how to roll with it or ignore it. This time it happened to be recorded only seconds before my hit. There are A LOT of things wrong with this. pic.twitter.com/5Ok58Vm7e0— Brianna Hamblin (@BriReports) July 23, 2021