#News Anchor Body-Shamed By Viewer. See Her Response

Moments before going live on Nov. 29, Canadian news anchor Leslie Horton received an email from a viewer, who had watched her traffic report earlier that morning.

The message read: “Congratulations on your pregnancy. If you’re going to wear old bus driver pants, you can expect emails like this.”

Horton, 59, was familiar with the sender.  

“He’s reached out several times over the years, and his intent is always to humiliate and hurt me,” Horton, a broadcaster for Global News Calgary, tells TODAY.com. “We’re not supposed to respond to trolls — so I had no plans to address it, but then the words just came out of my mouth. I had this visceral reaction.” 

Horton began her on-air response by explaining that she was about to address an email that had just appeared in her inbox.

“No, I’m not pregnant. I actually lost my uterus to cancer last year, and this is what women my age look like,” Horton, who has an 18-year-old daughter, said while speaking directly into the camera. “So, if it’s offensive to you, that is unfortunate. Think about the emails you send.”

According to Horton, the man who criticized her outfit choice, appears to be a “regular viewer” and was “very likely” aware that she battled endometrial cancer. Horton was diagnosed in 2020, and shared the news with her audience. She also provided regular health updates. 

“I had a radical hysterectomy, which means they don’t just take your uterus, they take everything — and it immediately impacts the shape of your body,” Horton says. 

That’s why Horton says she “drew the line” at the man’s comment about how she looked in her pants.  

“Maybe I was responding to the pregnancy, no uterus, cancer thing,” Horton says. “Or maybe it’s just the fact that I’m tired female broadcasters — and women in general — are being treated this way. And I would say it hit a nerve because I’ve received thousands of messages from people — men and women — saying, ‘Good for you. This is not right and it needs to stop.’”

When Horton is asked if she will wear the pants again, she replies, “damn straight!”

“I will continue wearing the pants, and I will continue going on TV because you telling me I’m old, ugly and fat doesn’t change the way I feel about myself,” Horton says.

“I also believe that your local news station should reflect your community, and guess what? There are other 59 year old women out there!” she adds.

Horton notes that the male anchors at Global News Calgary are “horrified” by the emails that their female colleagues receive on a daily basis. She says they don’t get hateful messages about their appearance. 

After Global News shared Horton’s powerful response on X, formerly known as Twitter, she was inundated with words of support.

“Bravo. You handled this perfectly,” one person wrote.

Echoed another, “This was possibly the most classy response to a classless email. I don’t know how you kept your composure but we all benefit from taking this in. You’re in a league of your own.”