KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE: Tabitha Bartoe, 22, who had been working as a weekend morning weather anchor for the news station ABC affiliate WATE 6, was fired from her job. In a lengthy Twitter post on May 14, Bartoe shared the news with her followers and signaled it was because she had “curly hair” and isn’t a “size 2.”
She wrote, "Many of you have been asking numerous questions and I feel you deserved to have an honest answer about where I've been." She thanked her supporters for being there as she explained, "I feel I never was able to introduce myself and magically appeared on your screens one day, but I was a student that had just graduated in December and this was my first job out of college and I was extremely excited to get to know you all."
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She then said, "When I went to college I was told that you will hear negative things about you and you have to ignore it, but I never once heard anything negative from viewers because you all were so kind no matter where I went. You all made me happy to be a Tennessean." And continued to say, "The sad news, my time at WATE has come to a close. I'm so appreciative of the Storm Team, the digital producers, the rest of the on air talent, and everyone in the control room. They were the ones that kept spirits lifted and things positive, even if the circumstances with management were not as great."
'Everyone is beautiful and professional in their own ways'
Bartoe further expressed, "One thing I will say, is that I hope that in the future, we all learn to appreciate and accept people for who they are. For their appearance, for their STYLE. Everyone is beautiful and professional in their own ways. No matter if you have curly hair, or if you're not a size two, but a size 12. You matter, and people's comments should not let you down. It should not play as a large circumstance in your job. If you have natural curls, embrace them and be proud of your natural hair. It is professional."
'@6News made a really, really poor decision'
One of her followers replied by saying, "I'm sorry to hear about this and that you're going through this. I think you look really lovely (being honest) and I know another station (local or somewhere else) would die to have you as part of their team." Another wrote, "Well, I think you are damn cute. You will be back on the air sooner rather than later. @6News made a really, really poor decision!!!!"
Who is Tabitha Bartoe?
According to her LinkedIn profile, Bartoe has been the weekend morning weather anchor for WATE 6 since Feb 2023. Prior to this, she was working as a freelance meteorological production assistant for Fox Weather. She completed her BA in Communication, General from Valparaiso University in 2022 and pursuing her masters in Communication Science, Social Data Analytics from the University of North Dakota.
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