Jennifer Livingston: Too Fat For TV?
By now you’ve probably heard all about Jennifer Livingston, the local news anchor who sparked a massive debate this week after hitting back at a viewer’s snarky email. The email in question from a guy called Kenneth Krause attacked Livingston for being overweight and setting a bad example – and Jennifer sure wasn’t happy! . The story has been EVERYWHERE over the last few days and I thought I’d let the saga play out before I offer my two cents.
Well that time is now – so here’s my take!
If you don’t know or haven’t read Krause’s original email here’s an excerpt. He tells Jennifer:
“Surely you don’t consider yourself a suitable example for this community’s young people, girls in particular. Obesity is one of the worst choices a person can make and one of the most dangerous habits to maintain. I leave you this note hoping you’ll reconsider your responsibility as a local public personality to present and promote a healthy lifestyle.”
Okay here we go. First and foremost obesity is NOT a choice that a person simply says yes or no to, no more than any other bad behavior. I’ve said it countless times here on the site – I believe many obese and overweight (and underweight) people have underlying emotional issues and food happens to be their drug of choice. Seriously does anyone believe that anyone wants to be obese? I’m sure that answer is no.
Second, who the heck is this guy to decide who’s a positive role model for anyone? By Krause’s way of thinking I guess anyone who’s overweight isn’t setting a good example! By the way take a look at his pic above… what does it tell you about the guy?
Now look, if Jennifer were a fitness professional I may take issue, because I feel at the end of the day you need to lead by example and practice what you preach. But she’s not – she’s a news anchor and apparently she does her job just fine. It’s not Jennifer’s responsibility – or anyone else in the media – to help develop your child’s point of view, self esteem and teach them the morals and ethic of life. That’s a parent’s responsibility. If you feel TV and media has too much influence over your child, then as a parent step up, turn it off and remove it from their life. But don’t go around blaming people on TV for your lack of parenting. And worse, don’t go pointing fingers. What type of leadership is that displaying?
We could take this one step further and apply it to virtually anything in the media. We could have a field day attacking TV shows, movies, newspaper and magazine ads that show people who are overweight, celebrities who smoke, are too thin, are seen fighting, drinking alcohol, whatever. Those are not exactly positive images for our youth now are they? Interestingly I wonder if the writer has taken issue with McDonalds or other companies that solicit our youth into eating the garbage they sell. I mean have you ever just sat down and watched TV for the commercials? The amount of bright colors and fun associated with eating high fat high sugary garbage is astounding. And surely those multi million dollar ads have significantly more influence than a local news anchor in Wisconsin.
I think what this entire event showcases best is our continued ignorance towards obesity. I’ll be 100% honest and say that just a few years ago I was quite ignorant as well. Since launching Angry Trainer Fitness I’ve learned a great deal from the tonnes of letters from all over the world from people who have struggled with their weight. Obesity is NOT A CHOICE, nor is it a ‘habit’ that one maintains. It’s a vicious cycle of behavior that unlike other vices shows up in a person’s appearance.
People who are overweight are not lazy, they’re not slobs or untidy, they’re not gluttons, they’re not weak or unsuccessful human beings. They are simply people who struggle with weight, for one reason or another, the same as you may have a struggles in your life that keep haunting you. Saying that a person who is overweight is a bad role model is ludicrous, because it discounts everything about that individual and focuses only on their appearance – and that’s the problem with our society.
Listen I’ll be the first to tell you that in many areas of my life I’ve struggled for years and made terrible choices. Yet under Krause’s way of thinking because I’m fit and healthy I’m a better role model and better suited to lead our youth. Sorry but that’s just not right. I could talk about this forever, really I could. And I’m not saying that those who are overweight and obese shouldn’t take responsibility for their choices – of course they should. But to call someone out, bully and criticize them and belittle their value as an individual due to their weight is wrong and helps no one.
In fact I think the elitist, condescending tone of the email says far more about the writer than it does about Jennifer Livingston. If Krause himself has any children I seriously worry for them!
But what do you think? Do you agree with Kenneth’s letter? Is Jennifer a bad role model? Fire away…
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| Print article | This entry was posted by Alfonso on October 4, 2012 at 10:15 am, and is filed under NEWS. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site. |
about 7 months ago
I think Krause is a total ass. He obviously has some serious issues of his own that he has not recognized nor dealt with to write something so ignorant. Just because someone may be over weight it does not define the person they are. Jennifer Livingston is a mother of 3 daughters and a very successful news anchor what better role model could they ask for? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and not everyone cares to be skinny. People can be over weight and still be perfectly healthy.
about 7 months ago
How does he know if she may not hit the gym after work and be fitter than he is? Appearance is no indicator for fitness dammit!!!!!
about 7 months ago
Okay, anyone who would bother sitting down and sending such an e-mail is the poster child for “Too Much Free Time.” That said, he e-mailed her privately, and if that is the verbatim text of his e-mail, he used a civil tone and did not call her offensive or insulting names. SHE then chose to take to the airwaves in her own defense PUBLICLY…why? My opinion is that if she is really, truly “just fine” with her weight, appearance, life, etc. she wouldn’t have dignified the e-mail with a response, and certainly not with a public, televised one. The fact that “the lady doth protest too much” and feels the need to publicize the criticism and ramble on about how she is more than her physical body and she’s a multi-faceted human being with great friends and blah blah blah indicates to me that she is *not* okay with her obesity and feels the need to make a detailed defense and garner “inspiration” and “support” from others in the same boat, knowing that others will rally in her defense with what they consider righteous anger. Consider this: If she had gotten an e-mail that was critical of her reporting style or on-air delivery of the news, would she have addressed that personal characteristic in the same way? I doubt it.
about 7 months ago
Norma, the issue with that is; it was HER HUSBAND who posted the e-mail to facebook and brought it to the public’s attention. Jennifer was all for laughing it off, but apparently, her hubby (who ALSO works at the station as a reporter) took issue with some total stranger making such invalid, unsupported claims about his wife. People voiced their support for her in response and well… it went from there.
This isn’t about ‘protesting too much’ and its not about being ‘defensive’. This is the problem; we’ve come to associating bringing attention to an issue with acting ‘defensive’ or ‘protesting too much’ and all that stuff. Jennifer stood up for herself and said, ‘Yes, I AM overweight. What of it?’ and brought attention to a REAL PROBLEM. You seem to ASSUME too much about her Regardless of whether or not she’s fine with her weight, she does make a valid point; NO ONE has the right to claim someone is a poor role model based simply on how much they weigh.
about 7 months ago
I always appreciate your unique perspective. I never can predict your responses…
Thank you!
about 7 months ago
I agree that Krause is an elitist, judgmental ass and I’m glad someone called him out publicly. She is more than a body and whether or not she’s okay with her weight is no one’s business but hers. Another thing: Krause wasn’t a friend of hers who has an expectation of privacy. When he sent her that email, it became her property and she could do whatever she pleased with it. If Krause thought she owe him something on that score he’s mistaken.
about 7 months ago
@Beth, that’s even worse, if it was her husband who told her to get on the air and make a public statement about her weight, honestly. If this is the first time she’s received such an email from a viewer (let’s just say it is, as far as we know), now she’s pretty much encouraging a bunch of other a-holes with Too Much Free Time to start sending in hate mail. What did your mother tell you to do when someone picked on you? IGNORE IT. Bullies want ATTENTION and she just gave this guy (whom , it seems as of today, is a very fit personal injury attorney in her viewing area) a TON of FREE PUBLICITY…so who wins?
about 7 months ago
@Norma, he didn’t TELL HER to go on air. She decided that for herself after she got an outpouring of support.
Yeah, I was told that; not so much by my mother, but by teachers. And guess what?
It didn’t work. No matter what i did, no matter how hard I tried. Ignoring the bullies didn’t make them go away. Know why it doesn’t work? Because it places all the responsibility on the VICTIM instead of holding the BULLY accountable for THEIR actions. I was bullied MERCILESSLY in school; so badly, I had to leave public school and attend a small, private school. Because the bullies were RARELY, IF EVER held accountable for their words/actions.
And that is what we must do; hold bullies accountable for how THEY act. If we don’t do that, then we CONDONE bullying by not confronting it.
about 7 months ago
I completely agree with your thoughts on this, Angry Trainer! You are 110% right on!!! This Krause guy had NO business sending her that letter. As an overweight person who works out, trust me – SHE KNOWS she’s overweight. She doesn’t need “helpful” people pointing it out to her.
She can be a great role model for girls who want to be news anchors, or who want to do XYZ in their life. This woman is not putting herself out there as a fitness role model whatsoever, so this judgement was totally uncalled for, period.
People forget that others can have several role models in life – and just because someone is a role model doesn’t mean that you’re going to actually do.every.single.thing. that person does in their life outside of their direct modeling to a person.
As to Norma’s comments – well, he sent this email to a public figure – one who’s in the media. Pretty sure he meant to get some attention from it, and unless he’s a complete idiot, he should have anticipated some sort of reaction that *might* have become public. She is a journalist, not a nutritionist or personal trainer or PE teacher!
I don’t think random people have the right to comment on anyone else’s body. “Walk a mile in their shoes” comes to mind in this situation.
Your self worth, work ethic, personality, and other characteristics should not break down to the number on the scale or your tag. Period.