As a meteorologist, Tracy Hinson has weathered all kinds of criticism.
“People will write in saying they don’t like my voice or my looks,” Hinson, 28, told TODAY Style. “I try not to let it bother me.”
Last week, the newscaster at KSDK in St. Louis, received some unsolicited advice from a woman named Mary.
“Do you ever watch yourself giving the weather report?” Mary wrote. “Seems that you need a girdle for the stomach overhang which shortens the front of your dress. Today was not the the first time I have noticed. Maybe you should wear a top that covers the bulge in your stomach.”
Though Hinson normally replies to trolls privately, she responded to Mary on Twitter and included a screenshot of her cruel note.
“Dear Mary, yes I do watch my air checks,” Hinson wrote. “NO I will not be strapping myself into a girdle because you don’t like my belly. I like pasta, bread and cheese too much to obsess over my weight. I like my body and that’s all that really matters.”
The message went viral with thousands of supportive comments. Many thanked Hinson for standing up to bullies.
As one woman wrote, "On behalf of this Mary (who needs more than a girdle to control her tummy), thanks for the awesome response. I've finally come to love my body and am so tired of the fat-shamers. You rock!!"
Hinson believes weather presenters are targeted more than anchors because they don’t sit behind a desk. Though she noted that her fiancé, Garry Frank, who is a meteorologist in Kansas City, has never been trolled for his appearance.
“I have no idea where the idea came from female meteorologists have to be models,” Hinson told TODAY. “I’m in this job because I’m a big nerd who loves science. I’m here for the storms.”
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