The KTLA weather reporter whose sparkly Saturday morning dress – and covering up at her co-anchor Chris Burrous’ request – has sparked a firestorm of criticism says the exchange was all in good fun.
“For the record, I was not ordered by KTLA to put on the sweater,” Liberté Chan writes in her blog, Life of Liberté. “I was simply playing along with my co-anchor’s joke, and if you’ve ever watched the morning show, you know we poke fun at each other all the time."
The provocative incident (it’s making news as far off as Australia) occurred during the 8 a.m. hour on the Tribune-owned CW affiliate’s Saturday newscast, when Burrous handed Chan a sweater during her weather report, saying “we’re getting a lot of emails” about her sleeveless frock.
In her blog, Chan says she “played along and put on the sweater” (although her subsequent comment, "I look like a librarian now,” sparked a mini-controversy of its own, causing Chan to later apologize for using the “librarian stereotype”).
In the time since, pundits as well as the public have weighed in on the event, blasting Burrous for his sexist ways and “shaming” Chan. A New York Daily News headline said the incident “showcases everything that’s wrong with America.”
Chan, however, writes the incident is being overblown.
“And, also for the record, there is no controversy at KTLA. My bosses did not order me to put on the cardigan, it was a spontaneous moment,” she writes. In fact, she says, the beads and sequins on dress – a last-minute replacement for one that bordered on transparent – “were probably a bit much for the morning,” she says.
“Since talking to my team, I want our viewers to know it was never our intention to offend anyone,” Chan writes.
“More importantly, I hope my viewers were able to plan their Saturday once they heard my forecast and enjoyed the sunny weather after the clouds cleared.”
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhqT9XnsXuY[/embed]
