Change your hair or leave: Knoxville anchor says she was fired by WATE for her appearance

[Jilly_in_VA]

It was Tabitha Bartoe's third day on the job at WATE when her bosses at the Knoxville TV station pulled her away from training − not for an urgent weather event, but for a hair appointment and shopping spree to find new clothes.

The station felt like a good fit for the recent college grad, and the role of weekend morning weather anchor was a promising one.

But after months of being criticized by supervisors for her appearance − namely, her naturally curly hair − Bartoe said she was let go May 9 because her style didn't align with company policy.

"It doesn't even sound real," Bartoe told Knox News. "The whole thing just sounds like a joke. And I wish it was."

Women in television have always had to contend with a narrow beauty standard that can be weaponized to eliminate their jobs. Last year, renowned Canadian television journalist Lisa LaFlamme was fired after she stopped dyeing her hair and let her natural gray show.

In 2019, Mississippi news anchor Brittany Noble-Jones was fired after a supervisor complained about her natural hair. Noble-Jones is Black and did not straighten her hair or wear extensions. She said she was told to use a closet to pump milk for breastfeeding after she returned to work following the birth of her child.

https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/2023/05/17/tennessee-weather-anchor-tabitha-bartoe-curly-hair-wate-fired/70227065007/

[niyad]

1. and the WAR ON WOMEN continues apace. Would you consider cross-posting this in

Women's Rights And Issues? Thanks in advance.

[Jilly_in_VA]

5. I tried to

but it disappeared

[niyad]

10. Bizarre. Thank you for trying.

[EYESORE 9001]

2. Station is owned by Nexstar Media Group

I hope their phone lines are smoking hot right about now.

[CurtEastPoint]

3. email the station general manager. A WOMAN

[e-mail]

[RKP5637]

4. FFS! n/t

[marble falls]

6. Crazy. And in these days.

[Timeflyer]

7. Women still have to contend with this pressure? Would they make her wear a girdle

and weigh in everyday? Would she be fired if she got married? I thought we fought the the curly/straight/natural hair wars and reached a truce, but apparently not.

[Freethinker65]

8. Insane, unless it affected her time with the green screen weather imaging.

I can understand where the volume of hair and movement of long loose curls could interfere with weather map presentation. Same with the clothes.

I remember reading an article not that long ago about many weather anchors wearing the same dress. When someone finds a new style option that works well, they let everyone know. There were images of various weather anchors all wearing either same or similar different version of the same dress presenting the weather. The dress was simple and flattering, but not revealing in anyway.

[malaise]

9. No one on this planet can forceme to alter my natural hair

Fuck that racist company policy.

[Chainfire]

11. Did she have different hair when she was hired?

[Wonder Why]

12. Time to stop applying for jobs at maggot businesses. They want women who

"look right" [pun intended] and they care little about knowledge, intelligence, experience, education or anything as unimportant as those.

[MichMan]

13. Wonder how many less attractive applicants she beat out to get the job in the first place ?

Common knowledge that appearances are important to be on air in television. Why do you think so many people are familiar with the adage "A face made for radio"

[Duppers]

14. Saw that.

This is probably still happening in more places than we imagine.