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News Anchor Was Body-Shamed by a Viewer - Fires Back With Epic On-Air Takedown
Everyday Heroes

News Anchor Was Body-Shamed by a Viewer - Fires Back With Epic On-Air Takedown

It's no secret that women in the public eye are held to ridiculous body standards. Shameful? Yes. Surprising? No.There's nothing wrong with our bodies, but there is something wrong with the messages women receive about them. And it can get exhausting. So when Global News Calgary traffic reporter Leslie Horton received yet another scathing email shaming her appearance, she snapped. Understandably so. She decided to address the troll, live on the air, and her response was nothing short of EPIC.News Anchor Responds to Man’s Body-Shaming Comments in Epic Call-OutHorton was just about to go on air when she received the nasty email from a regular viewer. Normally she just ignores and deletes but this time she'd had enough. On the spur of the moment, she decided to address it. “He’s reached out several times over the years, and his intent is always to humiliate and hurt me,” she told TODAY. “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.”With cameras rolling, Horton, who is 59, didn't hold anything back. Like the hero she is, she shut down the troll with just a handful of words. And she did it with an incredible amount of class and grace. "I'm just going to respond to an email that I just got saying, 'Congratulations on your pregnancy. If you’re going to wear old bus driver pants, you can expect emails like this,'" she began, looking straight into the camera."So thanks for that," she responded sarcastically. "Um 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's unfortunate. Think about the emails you send."MIC. DROP.And then, without missing a beat, she went right back to reporting on the traffic. Global News Calgary and the World RespondAs for how her employer, Global News, felt about Horton's powerful response? THEY WERE HERE FOR IT. (Along with pretty much the entire rest of the world.)The news station was so supportive it posted the clip on social media, where it quickly went viral. So far, it has garnered 3.9 MILLION views. The clip was also shared on TikTok by user @sarantium where it has amassed over 560,000 views, with 66,000 likes, and 1950 comments.The comments on both social media posts have been overwhelmingly positive and supportive. People have come out in droves to show her love and give her mad props for calling out the hater. "Sorry you have to deal with trolls Leslie. Keep being you & beautiful," wrote one.“You handled the low life like a champ,” another person wrote."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," wrote a third.Even the Canadian Cancer Society responded by writing, "You're a cancer warrior and a champion for women everywhere! Keep doing what you're doing!"The News Anchor’s Battle With CancerIn January 2022, Horton, who has been with the network for 26 years, shared on X (formerly Twitter) that she was taking a leave of absence to battle cancer. During her almost four-month leave, she underwent a radical hysterectomy. A surgery that can literally change the shape of a woman's body. She returned to work in April last year. According to Horton, the man who criticized her is a regular viewer and "very likely" knew of her battle with endometrial cancer.“Maybe I was responding to the pregnancy, no uterus, cancer thing,” Horton told TODAY. “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.’”She also noted that her male co-workers don't receive hate about their appearances and that they are "horrified" by the emails that their female colleagues receive daily. As for those "old bus driver pants?" Don't worry, we haven't seen the last of them. “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 said.The Importance of Speaking Out Against NegativityThe fact that Horton, and so many other women, have to deal with this regularly is disheartening. Yes, the body positivity movement has come a long way with more and more companies embracing body and age diversity in their marketing campaigns, in magazines and social media, and on the fashion runways.But it's obvious when things like this come to light that we still have a long way to go. How we speak to each other and about each other matters. By speaking out against negativity we can shape a world where everyone is embraced and celebrated for who they are.More from Goalcast:Stranger Body Shames 17-Year-Old Girl in Public – But She Refuses to Stay Silent About It13-Year-Old Gets Body Shamed By Nurse For Gaining Weight, Mom Has Best ResponseTeen Is Body-Shamed by Teacher in Front of the Whole Class and Then Kicked Out – Furious Mom Hits Back

This Nurse Delivered a Baby Boy -- Then She Took Him Home
Love Stories

This Nurse Delivered a Baby Boy -- Then She Took Him Home

Claire Mills is a young woman in her twenties who works a difficult and intense but incredibly important job. She makes her living working 12-hour nursing shifts in the neonatal intensive care unit at a Texas hospital.Being around struggling babies can be emotionally tough, but Mills does it because she cares about each and every one who comes through the NICU. However, one particular baby caught ahold of her heart and the young nurse found she couldn't let go. Everything changed when she met JacksonBaby Jackson was born 5 weeks early and weighed just 3 pounds and 10 ounces. "It was an instant connection I felt with him," Mills recalled of the delivery when she spoke to Inside Edition.Jackson's birth mother had an emergency cesarean section and he spent the first weeks of his life in the NICU, where Mills took care of him. Mills also became close to the mother, who was not doing well.Ultimately, mother and baby both grew strong enough to be released, but Mills was devastated to discover that they were discharged on a day she wasn’t at the hospital. Mills reached out to the baby’s social worker and found out that, though Jackson's mother was out of the hospital, she still needed help: in the form of a new home for her baby.The mom didn’t have the means to give Jackson the upbringing he deserved, and asked Mills to be the one to give him that upbringing.Though construction on her new home had just finished and being a single mother wasn't on her radar, Mills knew what she had to do. But how was she going to pull off being a NICU nurse and a mother, all on her own?Mills discussed adopting Jackson with her own mom"She was immediately ecstatic," Mills recounted, laughing. A leftover crib from one of her siblings was still in the house and her mother quickly offered it for Jackson to sleep in, along with help caring for her future grandson.And so it was decided that Mills would begin adoption proceedings to make Jackson her son. The idea of trying it out as a foster parent first was suggested, but "I just felt like fostering wasn't permanent," Mills said. "Because I didn't want to give him up."Jackson finally came home in JuneThe new family started a new routine. Mills works four 12-hour shifts each week and Jackson stays with her mother during that time. Mills visits him each day before she heads to the hospital. He comes home with her for the remaining three days of the week."He's so happy," she said. "He's so pleasant." Now 4 months old, Jackson is healthy and already starting solid foods.Mills feels so rewarded she was able to help this helpless infant who got such a rough start in life. "It's not normal to see something that's supposed to be happy turn out to be so bad," she said. However, it was this circumstance that gave her Jackson.The new mother's generosity is a great reminder that anyone's life can be turned around when they recognize an opportunity to do good -- and seize it! In doing so, Mills not only enriched the life of her new son, but also her own. More inspiring adoption stories:Nurse Adopts Hospitalized Baby Girl Who Went Months Without Any VisitorsAbused Teen Gets Adopted by the Police Officer Who Drove Her to Foster CareAfter This Woman Adopted a Newborn Baby, She Gave Shelter to Her Daughter’s Homeless Birth ParentThis Couple Adopted a Baby Boy 5 Years Ago — Now They’re Saving His Newborn Sister

Greta Thunberg Stands Up to Her Critics -- and Explains Her "Superpower"
Stories

Greta Thunberg Stands Up to Her Critics -- and Explains Her "Superpower"

“When haters go after your looks and differences ... you know you’re winning.” This is a powerful statement from a powerful young girl, and just one example of what makes Greta Thunberg so unique and special.Even at the young age of 15, Greta Thunberg is very well known for her environmental activism, but right now she’s getting attention for her Asperger’s diagnosis, and how she’s responding to the people criticizing her.Greta's superpower:After adults critics said her Asperger’s made her “different,” she instead pointed out how it’s her “superpower.”Thunberg recently shared on her very active Twitter account that before she started her climate action campaign she had “no energy, no friends and I didn’t speak to anyone. I just sat alone at home, with an eating disorder.”She confessed she had previously not shared her diagnosis but decided to hide it not because she felt shame, but because “many ignorant people still see it as an ‘illness’, or something negative.”Her difference is her strengthHowever, now she’s able to see how her unique situation isalso a strength. “Sometimes makes me a bit different from the norm” and shesees being different as a “superpower.” Those with Asperger’s are often known to be direct and very honest, and this can actually be very useful in interacting with people and building trust. Thunberg believes her vigilant climate crisis work was partly down to viewing the world in stark terms.Thunberg has dealt with critics in all corners of social media Australian News Corp columnist Andrew Bolt wrote a column that directly mocked her diagnosis, saying she was “deeply disturbed”.Thunberg responded by tweeting that she was “deeply disturbed” by the “hate and conspiracy campaigns” run by climate deniers like Bolt.We all go through situations where people mock or misunderstand our lives or what we are going through, especially if we are going against he grain. As Greta shows up, standing up for yourself and others like you is the best way to rise above.

This Puppy With Six Legs is a Bullied Teen's Saving Grace
Everyday Heroes

This Puppy With Six Legs is a Bullied Teen's Saving Grace

Sometimes, people let us down, and it can be hard to trust again –- but friendship and renewed trust can come from the most unexpected of places -- like man’s best friend.After Luke Salmon, a 15-year-old boy from Kent, England, was bullied at school because of his psoriasis, his mom Lauren was really worried about him. But when they adopted a six-legged puppy, she found him an instant friend.Luke had instantly fallen in love with the eight-week-old Labrador mix when he saw him online. He felt a kinship with the pup, because he is also a bit different than his peers. The unusual critter is called Roo because she hops around on her back -- for a very good. She was born with two extra front legs.“Luke feels like the odd one out because of his condition, and now he’s got a best friend to match,” Lauren told SWNS.Lauren reports that when she and Luke went to pick up Roo, the little pup was so happy to meet her new human family she came “bounding out” of her puppy pen.“It was love at first sight for Luke and for Roo from then on,” Lauren says. “Luke is like a protective father. They never leave each other’s sides and she even sleeps in his bed.”Since getting Roo two weeks ago, the Salmonfamily has fallen in love with her.“She’s is just a normal dog to us, just with a couple of extra bits. Her special legs don’t cause her any pain, and it’s easy to see just how full of life she is,” Salmon told SWNS. “There are not many dogs like Roo out there. I think the breeders kill them off because they’re not worth anything, but to us she’s priceless.”Now, the family hopes to help Roo improve her mobility as she gets bigger and stronger. “When she walks, she sort of staggers on her elbows with her bum in the air, like an army crawl,” says Lauren. ” It’s sad but it’s cute at the same time because she is so full of energy.”But regardless of her mobility, Roo is already Luke's saving grace. "I think Roo will reduce Luke’s stress and that should help his skin,” his mom predicts, echoing studies that show pets to be beneficial to mental health.Luke and Roo's bond just goes to show that our differences are what bring us together and what makes us special. We don't need to look for perfection in our friends or loved ones -- those who are overlooked are often the ones with the most to give.More inspiring dog stories:This Deaf Puppy Couldn’t Find a Home After Illness, Until His Deaf Owner Came Along Golden Lab Saves Sleeping Owner from House Fire One Year After Being RescuedMan Sneaks Dog into Hospital to Say Goodbye to Dying Wife15-Pound Beagle’s Loyalty Saves Young Girl from Kidnapper