Meteorologist fired after responding to viewer who didn’t like her natural hair

Dec 11th, in News, What the Cuss?, by Christelyn Karazin

This woman was FIRED because some hillbilly suggested she put on a wig.

Author : Christelyn Karazin

Author's Website | Articles from Christelyn Karazin

This is truly a WHAT-THE-CUSS?! story if I ever heard one.

A black female meteorologist has been fired from the ABC affiliate in Shreveport, La., she told Journal-isms, because she responded to a racial remark posted by a viewer on the station’s Facebook page.

KTBS-TV’s action against Rhonda Lee followed a previous response by Lee to a viewer who questioned whether she should wear her short Afro, suggesting she put on a wig or grow more hair.

Yes, people. This hillbilly wrote in and said that they lady was nice enough, delivered the weather pretty accurately, but…she didn’t have enough hair for his taste.

On Oct. 1, a viewer identified as Emmitt Vascocu wrote, “the black lady that does the news is a very nice lady.the only thing is she needs to wear a wig or grow some more hair. im not sure if she is a cancer patient. but still its not something myself that i think looks good on tv. what about letting someone a male have waist long hair do the news.what about that (cq).” [SOURCE]

Here’s a photo of the woman in question:

Natural-hair wearing meteorologist, Rhonda Lee.

Take a look at this woman. She is divine.

Oh, but I bet I know what you’re thinking. Did Rhonda respond to the viewer’s email with neck-rolling coupled with tongue-lashing precision to his man-jewels? Nope.

Here’s what she wrote:

Hello Emmitt–I am the ‘black lady’ to which you are referring. I’m sorry you don’t like my ethnic hair. And no I don’t have cancer. I’m a non-smoking, 5’3, 121 lbs, 25 mile a week running, 37.5 year old woman, and I’m in perfectly healthy physical condition.

“I am very proud of my African-American ancestry which includes my hair. For your edification: traditionally our hair doesn’t grow downward. It grows upward. Many Black women use strong straightening agents in order to achieve a more European grade of hair and that is their choice. However in my case I don’t find it necessary. I’m very proud of who I am and the standard of beauty I display. Women come in all shapes, sizes, nationalities, and levels of beauty. Showing little girls that being comfortable in the skin and HAIR God gave me is my contribution to society. Little girls (and boys for that matter) need to see that what you look like isn’t a reason to not achieve their goals.

“Conforming to one standard isn’t what being American is about and I hope you can embrace that.

“Thank you for your comment and have a great weekend and thank for watching.”

And for that, she was fired. This woman embodied the composure, class and grace that we talk so much about, and she STILL got fired. She took the opportunity to have a “teachable moment” with someone completely ignorant of Afro-textured hair and got kicked in the teeth for it. This, to me, is wholly unacceptable. This is a pile of stinking dog shit. I hope that other members of the media will take up her cause (I’m looking at you Soledad O’Brien. Looking dead at you, Miss Black in America).

In ABC’s defense, they have an across-the-board policy that the talent not reply to emails. And hell, rules are rules, right? But what I bet ABC didn’t count on is the cluster-cuss about to rain down on them in 3…2…1….

What you see here ladies and gents, is what could be a national sensation that could spark a revolt. She’s about to be a martyr for the Natural Hair Movement.

Here’s the station’s contact info. Get busy. But before you do, here’s Ms. Lee’s Facebook page. Send her some good vibes.

KTBS
312 E. Kings Highway
Shreveport, Louisiana USA 71104

Main Number 318-861-5800

Newsroom 318-861-5880
318-219-4680 (fax) Email
Send Press Release to: Email

Station Manager
George Sirven 318-861-5821 Email

Community Affairs
Jan Elkins 318-861-5843 Email

Marketing/Production
Fair Hyams
318-861-5872 Email

News
Randy Bain 318-861-5880 Email

Sales(Local)
Linda Howard
318-861-5826 Email

Sales(Regional)
Mike Manard
318-861-5837 Email

Sales (New Media)
Patrick Denofrio 318-861-5896 Email
Sales (KPXJ CW21)
Chris Tingle 318-861-5820 Email

Texarkana
News Room 903-832-5827
903-838-2654 (fax) Email

LaFemmeSphinx 286 pts

http://digitaltexan.net/2012/austin-local-news/austin-weathercaster-rhonda-lee-fired-racist-allegations/article44078/#.UNAvc45HnoQ

This article is disgustingly biased, intent on making Rhonda Lee look like an Angry BW but there are some brilliant comments and backlash! I'm particularly fond of the Fox News comment and the comment regarding when the accused, Emmitt Vascocu, actually mentioned his mental disorder after the this response occured.

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MySmile 4281 pts

Let me just say that Rhonda Lee and her hair are gorgeous! I love the way she handled the situation and her response was very professional..she summed it up perfectly...that response should be posted on billboards and in magazines. Some people will just never get it!

ASwirlGirl 3222 pts

What happened to Rhonda Lee stands in STARK contrast to how the Jennifer Livingston situation was handled:

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2012/10/overweight-tv-anchor-jennifer-livingston-responds-to-bully/

SarahRegiste 114 pts

ASwirlGirl a white woman news anchor stands up for herself, she keeps her job, a black woman news anchor stands up for herself, she gets fired. --__-- I swear black women can't ever win. smh

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SarahRegiste Yeppers! What the WW did was called a "teaching moment." It was, but I'm over here SMH at the difference in perceptions and outcomes.

Avoc42883 1269 pts

I'm so happy this is getting such national attention. People forget that as a black woman she has to deal with both racism and misogyny. All of those saying "she's a public figure she should have to deal with criticism" don't get it. Similar to the woman that received negative comments about her weight, she's in a situation were being anything other than a white, heterosexual male opens her up to more comments and criticism about her appearance. It's amazing what we are expected to just "deal with".

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mahogany 484 pts

I just left a message on the General Manager's answering machine. I did let him know that I lived outside of Louisiana so he can know or be reminded that this story has national attention. Keeping my fingers crossed. Personally, I don't know Ms. Lee, but I feel like I HAD TO speak on her behalf. This is deep on so many levels. It really hit home.

stephanie88

This is disheartening. Does anyone remember the situation with Jennifer Livingston who responded in a 4 minute monologue when a viewer said her weight made her a poor role model for young girls? Her station stood behind her. I know these situations are quite different but I think the station should stand behind Ms. Lee as opposed to firing her. Such a shame.

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ncatina 280 pts

MSNBC interview with Melissa Harris-Perry: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/msnbc/50188347#50188347

ncatina Thanks! I <3 Melissa Harris-Perry...and Rhonda Lee is so inspirational!

ncatina I love how Melissa Harris-Perry said that her main issue with the Chris Rock documentary was that black women should be able to speak for themselves....I like Chris Rock and appreciate what he was trying to do, but I felt the same thing...nobody knows about black women's hair, like black women....

IAOSingleMoms 892 pts

Wow! Every comment to every post that KTBS posts on its FB fanpage is about Rhonda Lee...they will not be able to ignore this!

Here is a comment I saw on the KTBS facebook fan page from a white man: Hello. I wanted to express my personal viewpoint to this respectable station in regards to its termination of Rhonda Lee. It is my belief that the 'error', if you will, was made by whomever at this station manages this FB page. By that I mean, you, as an employer, have an obligation to protect your employees from hostile individuals. Which, in this case, was an irate viewer whom used bigotry and ooffensive content in degrading this employee's hair style, which I, for one, find to be very professional and well groomed for these types of public positions.The way I see it, you, KTBS, failed to protect her by not deleting this post and warning the sender that personal attacks against its staff will not be tolerated. It's the same principal as the new 'zero tolerance' policies for bullying now being implement in full-force at schools across the nation. Your employee should not have been put in a position like this to where she felt she had to defend herself against such harmful and damaging comments as this.Instead, your station decided to terminate her for doing the job that you failed to do. I'm not an attorney, and am not familiar with any of your laws in Louisiana, but even if there are no laws that said you did anything wrong by what you did by terminating her, there is such a thing as the 'letter of the law' and 'spirit of the law'. Thank you for enabling me this opportunity to share my personal opinions with this station in regards to this matter here in the public domain.-Brad Smith of Rockford, Illinois.*If anyone else reads this comment that shares the same beliefs as me, please do so in both a productive and respectful manner, so as not to steep to their level of whomever posted the comment which started all of this in the first place. KTBS is more likely to be receptive to us if we do so in a professional manner.

Well, as of this morning, KTBS-TV is still having their royal tail shredded and handed to them on a covered platter. The comments denouncing the station are well into the thousands, and still, the station is trying to play business as usual. It now contains links to have the general manager removed and to contact the station's sponsors as to these shenanigans. http://www.facebook.com/KTBS3?ref=ts&fref=ts In the meantime, Roland Martin with the TJMS interviewed Rhonda as to everything that happened with this incident. http://blackamericaweb.com/81524/roland-martin-talks-with-rhonda-lee/

thecrazyartist 2420 pts

Let me start by saying the woman is gorgeous absolutely STUNNING.

Two, her response was classy and to the point, she did not insult anyone, she simply explained her hair and her style choice to a person who was clearly ignorant. She did not deserve to be fired and should be given her job back. It pains me when people cannot stand up for themselves without consequences, it's like we are expected to take abuse lying down especially black women.

KingsDaughter 4983 pts

Wow. Amazing.

Patricia Kayden 1710 pts

Hope she sues.

This comment has been deleted

reem11 " I do feel she will get her job back. Many times it takes something like this to happen to bring about change."

Reem 11, I agree I feel as though she may get her job back too. The question is does she want to go back to THAT station lol? Hopefully, a bigger station or a promotion can come out of this if she wants it. I believe that whats meant for bad can be flipped into good by God.

MissCee 31 pts

This is so ridiculous. I went natural two years ago but still wore weaves all the time. I got my hair straightened for the first time since going natural in September to do a length check and then out it in braids. Then I finally decided to wear my natural hair out for a period of a month. Although I went natural it took me TWO YEARS to be confident enough to wear it out. Everybody loved my hair but if anyone had made such and ignorant comment about my hair it would have really rocked my confidence. I'm happy she stood her ground

MissCee It took me a long time to be comfortable wearing my natural hair out, too...but now, nobody can tell me NOTHIN! lol..idc what negativity someone has to say..I'm not trying to hear it..and I wouldn't change my hair.. I wouldn't have been ashamed of my hair , but like you said, if that happened to me, I would have been a bit hurt, at least temporarily...still would have stood my ground though..and kept my hair just the way it is!

Kiera 48 pts

She's gorgeous, and I love a black woman who can stand up for herself. It's a shame she had to lost her job over standing her ground. Sure, she didn't have to engage this doosh and coulda took the high road but still...

Kiera I believe the primary point the station, and by extention the douche, made in regards to Ms. Lee's appearance is that they expected her to passively and quietly accept the mudslinging. Her dignified response ultimately was met with a callousness by station brass suggesting her to be an uppity n*******b******, not knowing her place and too big for her brit'chis, thus giving her the ax.

Looking at the majority of news accounts made on this story, she was released from the station on rules that were never in writing beyond that trite e-mail. When she asked to have a copy of the written policy governing employee social network interaction and activity, they refused her. Why? Because none existed! In the CNN interview, she noted further that there was NOTHING in her personnel file indicating past similiar indiscretions involving her social networking activities tied to the station. Again, the offensive post is still up RIGHT NOW from when it was first made October 1st. This proves to me that KTBS-TV has a very serious credibility, PR, and image problem.

Hopefully, she sues the hell out of this station for wrongful termination tied to racial discrimination, and that she starts the new year with a TV station more deserving of her talents, poise, and class.

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Lilly

This is so ridiculous, I can't believe they would fire her for responding. She did it in such a classy and respectful manner. This was a teachable moment and I think that we should all contact the news department there and in a respectful manner as well give them a piece of our minds. Even if they don't rehire her we should make it so that they think twice about doing this to someone who is trying to show people that beauty comes in all colors and hair lengths and textures. Please everyone contact them and I will too!!

Here's the link to their FB page - let 'em have it!

http://www.facebook.com/#!/KTBS3?fref=ts

QueenOfThePen 301 pts

I'm so proud of her for standing her dignified and professional ground. She's proof that Black women are beginning to own their images. We have only just begun and are knocking them DEAD in the water. http://bitly.com/bundles/queenofthepen/3

My latest conversation: Trade Show Savvy

VintageNarcissa 3152 pts

White news anchor called MSNBC correspondent Rachel Maddow an "angry young man" on Facebook. Not in response to anything. Just decided to put her status as "Rachel Maddow is an angry young man" for kicks. She gets a three day suspension, only after LGBT organizations urged that she receive some kind of punishment.

Black lady defends herself against some racist prick who thinks he's the only person out there watching TV. She get fired.

See, this is why I'm a print journalist and not broadcast. I could not deal with this BS.

But you know what, Ms. Lee's story going public is only going to push her toward bigger and better. Someone at Curly Nikki suggested that she will be snapped up by a competitor by New Years. I look forward to seeing her at a station that deserves her.

Jamila 7694 pts moderator

But this wasn't even an email that Ms. Lee was replying to. From Jezebel:

Of course, KTBS-TV couldn't even demonstrate any rules that Lee was in violation of: "I had a meeting with my ND [news director] and GM [general manager] Friday trying to get my job back," Lee said. "They told me the policy I violated isn't written down, but was mentioned in a newsroom meeting about a month-and-a-half prior. A meeting I didn't attend. So when I asked what rule did I break there isn't anything to point to."

Oh, an according to the a commenter over at Jezzie, the station LIKED the comment before hauling off and firing her.

This is definitely a WTF moment.

ForeverSerenity 340 pts

So wrong, so ignorant, so many words that I can't say because this really is beyond understanding! How could ABC be so "two-faced" to coin a phrase in their response to the other issue with the anchor and her weight, and this one to a black woman who wears her hair natural?!

Rhonda Lee did an interview this morning with CNN. http://www.cnn.com/video/standard.html#/video/bestoftv/2012/12/12/point-lee-ktbs-meteorologist.cnn?iref=allsearch

Christelyn 9253 pts moderator

ncatina Yay! Soledad came through!

Here is the actual thread and exchange - http://www.facebook.com/KTBS3/posts/10151461040727575

As well, I reached out to the ABC national affiliates page. Send them a message via their inbox - http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/ABCNetwork?fref=ts

SwirlQueen 1067 pts

This beautiful lady was wrong for responding via email. She should have responded on air. Unbelievable!

EarthJeff 3586 pts

Idiocy beyond words....

Kitt_Kat 112 pts

I still think this firing was a load of bull(I'm taken back to the anchor who was applauded for defending her weight on television against a rude critic), but an email I received from one of the KTBS people said that Lee and another coworker(a WM who was an 8-year veteran at the station) were fired because of several instances where they did not follow the procedure for responses to comments on the facebook page. I don't know about ABC'S policy, but the attached picture of that email telling employees not to respond to facebook criticisms was sent by KTBS/KPXJ.

I will see if I can find out some more on this other employee that was fired over this. I also plan on asking the person I emailed if they can send me other instances of Lee responding to criticisms between when the email was sent and when she was fired.

Also, here's the screencap of that email they claim to have sent about this:

http://tinypic.com/r/33eo1n6/6

Karla 19132 pts

So, just finished up writing some letters. Since I'm enduring an bout of insomnia, I put it to good use. Does anyone put on their thinking cap anymore?

Maxine 1006 pts

If ABC claims that they fire across-the-board for responding to viewers, they're full of crap. Just a couple of months ago, a white anchor woman the same age as Ms. Lee at the ABC affiliate in Wisconsin responded ON AIR to a viewer who criticized her weight via email. The woman's husband, also an anchor at the station, posted the email on his facebook page. Not only did her colleagues defend her, she was publicly applauded and interviewed on Good Morning America! I hope Ms. Lee is re-instated with compensation for the time she missed, or moves on to greener, less racist pastures. I will do my part. http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2012/10/overweight-tv-anchor-jennifer-livingston-responds-to-bully/

kiki100 630 pts

in Louisiana...no surprise there. I hear they are extremely backwoods.

AminahMatthews 603 pts

What an ass hole. This lady is absolutely GORGEOUS. First the Serena mocking and now this?. I gotta go...

>:/

AminahMatthews Ignoramus white folk that that dude would have been ignored. The writer didn;t seem to bright.

RichardBackman 132 pts

Chris the email links aren't working.....I wanna write them some love letters....

RichardBackman I'm not sure why the emails aren't working, but I just went to her facebook page and she said: Any questions can be directed to KTBS General Manager George Sirven 318-861-5813.