Sexist Remark to TV Reporter Covering Homicide Sparks Outrage

A reporter who shared a clip of herself reporting on a major crime was faced with an inappropriate comment from a Twitter user about her appearance that sparked backlash online.

On Saturday, journalist Liv Johnson from Fresno-based news station KSEE posted her report on a homicide investigation that had been launched following a shooting in Visalia, California, that resulted in a bar bouncer's death.

The report was quickly shared on social media and has so far been viewed more than 175,000 times. Among the many comments about the tragic incident, one sexist remark from a Twitter user got Johnson's attention.

The Twitter user wrote: "Upside she has nice t***" in reference to Johnson, who is wearing a black sweater in the video.

Johnson, seemingly shocked at the comment, replied two days later and tweeted "I'm literally reporting on a homicide."

Other social media users condemned the lewd comment and leaped to the reporter's defense.

Fellow journalist Tori King of Fox5 San Diego also defended Johnson and criticized the user, tweeting: "Downside, you're a creepy perv objectifying a professional woman doing her job. Do better dude."

NFL analyst Abby Alonzo weighed in and simply commented "dude, you suck," to which Wilson added fuel to the fire with a crude reply.

Fox 2 Now reporter Stephanie Rothman also praised Johnson for highlighting the comment: "How dare they. I would say I'm shocked but I'm not. Glad you're calling them out!"

Other social media users praised Johnson for coming forward and raising awareness about women suffering abuse while attempting to do their job. However, some noted that by tweeting a reply, Johnson may be inadvertently giving the person the attention they crave.

Some remarked that this may even embolden the commenter to make similar sexist remarks in the future if it results in a furious backlash.

A report by The Women's Media Center (WMC) has highlighted the amount of abuse women face online.

"Between 25% and 40 percent of American adult Internet users say they have been harassed online," the report said. "45 percent report experiencing "more severe" kinds of harassment. 57 percent of people reporting harassment in the US are women.

"An 11-year analysis of online harassment cases found that women made up 72% of victims and men 47.5 percent of perpetrators," according to the WMC.

Speaking more specifically about journalists, the report highlighted the abuse female journalists face.

"Close to two-thirds of women journalists report experiencing threats, sexist abuse, intimidation, threats and harassment in the course of doing their jobs," the report said.

Women journalists also report that more than 25% of the "verbal, written and/or physical intimidation including threats to family or friends" they receive happens online.

According to the report, "21.1 % of surveyed women journalists report experiencing digital/online account surveillance. 20.3% of women journalists report email or other digital/online account hacking."