TV anchor gives on-air rebuttal to viewer critique of attire

PORTLAND, Ore. – A weekend news anchor and TV reporter in Portland, Oregon, is doubling down on her preference for high-waisted pants after a male viewer told her to “dress like a normal woman” in a message sent to her Facebook work account.

Maggie Vespa, who works at Portland’s NBC affiliate KGW-TV, posted photos of herself wearing a different pair of high-waisted pants on five separate newscasts over the weekend because she wanted to draw attention to the pressure that women who work in the public eye face daily.

Vespa, a nine-year veteran of broadcast journalism, also delivered an on-air commentary about the remarks on Sunday’s late-night news with the support of her managers, she said in a phone interview Monday.

“I’m a pretty secure person but 10 years ago this would have rattled me,” she said. “I probably would have stopped wearing whatever that guy was criticizing and I would have gone out there with my minuscule paycheck and tried to buy some more clothes and tried to adjust. I remember that time, and I just thought if someone is starting out and getting comments like this, me calling it out for what it is might make it easier for them.”