News anchor who was body-shamed by a viewer claps back with epic on-air response

A news traffic reporter responded live on air to a body-shaming email she received and her reply has been called 'perfect'.

Global News Calgary anchor Leslie Horton was about to go on air on November 29 when she received an email from a viewer.

Recognizing the sender and having a 'visceral reaction', the 59-year-old ended up responding to the email during her live broadcast for the Canadian news service.

And people have been flooding to social media in support of her 'perfect' clap back.

After watching Horton's traffic report earlier that day, a viewer decided to troll the news anchor via email.

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

And it wasn't the first time Horton had received a message from the sender, with the broadcaster telling TODAY.com he'd sent multiple emails with the 'intent [...] always to humiliate and hurt' her.

Enough was enough and so Horton responded.

Global News

And so during her later live broadcast that day, the anchor addressed the email.

She told TODAY.com she 'had no plan to address it' but the 'words just came out'.

A clip of the broadcast shows Horton saying: "Just going to respond to an email I just got.

"[...] So thanks for that, no I'm not pregnant. I actually lost my uterus to cancer last year. And this is what women of my age look like, so if it is offensive to you, that is unfortunate.

"Think about the emails that you send."

Global News

And social media users have been flocking to the X - formerly known as Twitter - post by Global Calgary in support of Horton.

One user said: "Sorry you have to deal with trolls Leslie. Keep being you & beautiful."

Another added: "Good for you Leslie, very well handled!"

A third commented: "Ah yes. Grade five. When we made fun of what others wear and lacked the judgement to know better. Cheers to you for beating cancer, Leslie. I hope you are doing well."

And a final resolved: "Bravo. You handled this perfectly."

X

Horton reflected on her live hitting back at the viewer, saying: "Maybe I was responding to the pregnancy, no uterus, cancer thing.

"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'."

The broadcaster resolved: "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.

"I also believe that your local news station should reflect your community, and guess what? There are other 59-year-old women out there!"

*Mic drop*

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the American Cancer Society on 1-800-227-2345 or via their live chat feature.