Reporter Brianna Hamblin with Spectrum News 1 in Rochester, New York shared a painfully uncomfortable video of her being sexually harassed by a man on the street just before she was about to go on air.
She tweeted the video which now has 5.4 million views.
Hamblin captioned the video with:
"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."
Content warning: inappropriate language, sexual harassment.
WARNING: CRUDE LANGUAGE Being hit on and harassed as a woman, especially as a woman reporter out in the field, happ… https://t.co/U9fmEC0GFU— Brianna Hamblin (@Brianna Hamblin) 1627059337.0
The video of Hamblin shows her standing in front of the camera on a sidewalk while the camera person begins filming in preparation for her infield report.
One man approached her and said:
"You look, nice by the way."
Hamblin replied with a "thank you" and checked her phone as he walked away.
The second man approached with more aggression and said to Hamblin:
"You're beautiful as hell, goddamn."
She again replied with a "thank you" and tried to ignore the man.
As the man asked about why she was going to be on camera, Hamblin tried to get him to leave by suggesting:
"Go find a TV and watch Spectrum News. You can find out."
She pointed the opposite direction to shoo him away, but to no avail as he said:
"See, that's why I can't be left alone with a Black woman. Or a mulatto chick. 'Cause I can't stand these fucking White girls."
Hamblin was clearly very uncomfortable with the conversation as she nervously smiled and clutched her phone while crossing her arms across the front of her body.
Through an awkward smile she said:
"Alight, we are done here. Have a great rest of your day."
You could hear the man walk away still shout sexist statements about Hamblin's appearance.
Hamblin continued in a Twitter thread about the incident, pointing out how disgusting this whole situation was.
1.If you don’t want to be on camera, simply avoid it or ask nicely to not be on camera. Don’t walk towards it or ma… https://t.co/DUK35aX0WU— Brianna Hamblin (@Brianna Hamblin) 1627059338.0
2.“Oh, men these days just can’t give compliments.” No. The first man’s “you look nice” as he continued to walk awa… https://t.co/0kLzku2FPP— Brianna Hamblin (@Brianna Hamblin) 1627059338.0
3.The audacity of the things men say to me never ceases to amaze me. What makes you think women want to be talked t… https://t.co/Wp2v3fGOJP— Brianna Hamblin (@Brianna Hamblin) 1627059339.0
4.Being a Black woman in this industry has its own headaches, but talking down on one group of women to “praise” an… https://t.co/xmxqP6lfTo— Brianna Hamblin (@Brianna Hamblin) 1627059339.0
She also pointed out how this could have gone differently had Scott Barstow, the photographer behind the camera, not been there.
OH WAIT! One more thing: I was LUCKY I had @barstow_scott with me. At my last job, I had to deal with this type of… https://t.co/Ic95GndQNj— Brianna Hamblin (@Brianna Hamblin) 1627060604.0
Buzzfeed News was given a statement by Spectrum News' parent parent company Charter Communications.
Their spokes person Shari Culpepper said:
"We are glad that Brianna wasn't alone in the face of such adversity and we've never been more proud of her."
"She handled the situation impeccably, remaining calm and professional throughout. We want our employees to feel safe and are constantly working towards achieving that goal."
So many people shared how they have experienced similar situations such as this one.
@BriReports This video is triggering. I’ve been in this situation almost a hundred times - not as a reporter but as… https://t.co/y49CtIOW7d— Miss Lefty (she/her/MOM) (@Miss Lefty (she/her/MOM)) 1627067667.0
@BriReports The visible discomfort and the all too familiar forced coddling in hopes the situation doesn't escalate… https://t.co/S9bsZqJpdE— The Road Jess Travelled (@The Road Jess Travelled) 1627071288.0
@BriReports People don’t understand how problematic this is. You have to say thank you to avoid backlash but when y… https://t.co/SYsGIoFoW1— ✨June✨ (@✨June✨) 1627067635.0
@IramiOF @BriReports Does that justify abuse and harassment?— Nusrat Zahra (@Nusrat Zahra) 1627116324.0
@BriReports @pnuts_mama You handled it admirably, lady. Sorry that was the start to your day. ❤️— Soledad O'Brien (@Soledad O'Brien) 1627067413.0
@BriReports @Phil_Lewis_ This is always such a helpless feeling because there’s never a resolution. Women just have… https://t.co/praJ1idWdx— Kyle (@Kyle) 1627066989.0
@BriReports @OutspokenE This kind of harassment and ogling has happened to my so many times I can’t count them. It… https://t.co/DXFD4JxZJz— BlackGirlMagic (@BlackGirlMagic) 1627110968.0
@BriReports @evelynvwoodsen What’s infuriating is that as a woman I watched this video and realized I literally got… https://t.co/T8O105TgaT— the big kahuna 🇭🇹 (@the big kahuna 🇭🇹) 1627066339.0
@BriReports In this world Women aren’t allowed to exist without random men imposing their opinions on us and being… https://t.co/B30amxsKXe— That girl. (@That girl.) 1627073856.0
@Cleavon_MD @BriReports It's not enough for men to be sorry. It's on men and men alone to change male culture. This… https://t.co/7uUykLQGA9— 🇺🇸 Mama Wally, APR 🇺🇸 (@🇺🇸 Mama Wally, APR 🇺🇸) 1627133744.0
Freelancer for Rochester Business Journal Caurie Putnam also responded to Hamblin's tweet.
@BriReports I am so sorry Brianna. It angers me that so little has changed in the 20 years since I got into the fie… https://t.co/IAeVqjmT5l— Caurie Putnam (@Caurie Putnam) 1627065827.0
Some people who replied to the thread thought Barstow should have done more, but some disagreed.
Barstow initially replied but they have since been deleted:
"I can say is it hurts to see this. I'm sorry I stood there while you have to hear that."
"This isn't the first time you have heard this. I would say more like the 50th."
"I know it's easy for me to say but it's only words."
@_saltyaf/Twitter
@BriReports @barstow_scott I hope every man reading this knows that every woman in his life has experienced this. H… https://t.co/a4mE90PQtq— LisaF (@LisaF) 1627076988.0
@BriReports @barstow_scott If @barstow_scott would’ve said something the situation would have probably escalated ma… https://t.co/RKvPG0oXjg— Higgins ❤️🔥 (@Higgins ❤️🔥) 1627075489.0
@Shanda_Higgins @BriReports @barstow_scott That's just not true. Intervening doesn't mean displaying machismo or th… https://t.co/7PVue89ay9— Tim Pierce (@Tim Pierce) 1627130194.0
@BriReports @barstow_scott Um, your cameraman didn’t seem to do anything to tell off the guys. Not that you didn’t… https://t.co/6URH62aT7O— Norah M (@Norah M) 1627069332.0
@NorahMa20412961 @BriReports @barstow_scott If the cameraman would have stepped in, this situation would have been… https://t.co/azmCYZ3Ngm— Bianca_Norwood.cammodels.comⓋ♊ (@Bianca_Norwood.cammodels.comⓋ♊) 1627183022.0
@BriReports @barstow_scott He was there as a silent observer. I'm sure the streets are dangerous. He offered no all… https://t.co/YR4kRovodA— Lyn Davis (@Lyn Davis) 1627096873.0
Regardless of if Barstow should have said something to stop the man or stayed quiet to not escalate the situation, this shouldn't have happened in the first place.