Footage of an American news reporter being sexually harassed in the street moments before going live on air has gone viral, leaving social media users "appalled" and "disgusted".
Spectrum News Rochester reporter Brianna Hamblin shared a clip on Twitter that showed her preparing to report live from a suburban street when she was approached by two men.
One man can be heard asking to not be filmed on camera, to which the cameraman replies: "I'm not on yet." Another man then tells Hamblin: "You look really nice though", to which she answers: "Thank you."
The remarks from the men quickly escalated however, as did Hamblin's level of visible discomfort.
"You beautiful as hell. God damn," one man's voice can be heard saying.
"That's why I can't be left alone with a black woman... I can't stand these f**king white girls," he continues.
Attempting to diffuse the situation, Hamblin responds: "Alright, we are done here. Have a great rest of your day", only to have the man reply: "You are sexy as f**k."
A shocked and worried Hamblin mutters "Oh my God" as the men finally retreat.
Warning: The below clip includes strong language that may offend some people.
The footage has now been viewed over 5.2 million times, prompting a wave of supportive comments and condemnation of the men's behaviour. Hamblin expanded on the experience in a Twitter thread, explaining that being harassed in the field is a common occurrence.
"This time it happened to be recorded only seconds before my hit. There are A LOT of things wrong with this," she said.
"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 make a scene. Who said this was about you?" she wrote.
"2: 'Oh, men these days just can’t give compliments.' No. The first man's 'you look nice' as he continued to walk away is fine. It's the second man who took this to another disgusting level it didn’t need to be.
"3: The audacity of the things men say to me never ceases to amaze me. What makes you think women want to be talked to that way? In no way is this endearing. It's uncomfortable. It's gross."
Hamblin added that while being a black woman in the industry "had its own headaches", it was "never okay" to talk down on one group of women to praise another, referring to the man's comments about not being able to "stand" white women.
"It just shows you have a disgusting fetish based on stereotypes, which is just as racist," she said.
The reporter added that she was "lucky" to have had a male colleague with her during the incident.
"At my last job, I had to deal with this type of stuff ALONE, like most women MMJs (MultiMedia Journalists). It's not safe. It's scary. But the convo about the dangers of reporters working alone is for another day," she said.
One commenter asked how the "idiots" who harassed Hamblin would like it if someone said these derogatory remarks to their wife, or a female family member.
"Not so good, I imagine," they wrote.
"I am sorry and appalled - very crude and inappropriate comments made," another tweet read.
"Truly. It's gross. It's a form of bullying. It's not intended to impress a woman. It's a way of putting her down, putting her in 'her place'," said another.
Hamblin thanked everyone who had said kind things to her, and apologised to the women who related to her story.
"I want to give you a big virtual hug. Thank you for sharing your own experiences too so men realise how common and unwanted this is," she concluded.
