WATCH ABOVE: It’s the latest in a string of live TV affronts; a man kisses a reporter on cheek, takes selfie on live TV and runs away. CBC reporter Megan Batchelor reported the incident to police and received an apology from the man. Lama Nicolas has more.
TORONTO — A CBC reporter who was on the receiving end of an unwanted kiss from a man on live TV says she has accepted his apology.
Megan Batchelor said she was shocked when a young blond man in sunglasses rushed up behind her and attempted to plant a kiss on her cheek while taking a selfie during the Squamish Valley Music Festival in B.C., but didn’t have time to process her anger over the situation.
“Honestly in that exact moment I wasn’t really processing anything like that, it was honestly, ‘Ok, something chaotic just happened, you still need to just spit out the words and do your job and deal with that later,'” she said in a Skype interview with Global News.
WATCH: CBC reporter who was subjected to unwanted kiss speaks about the incident
Batchelor said she was “drawing a line in the sand” when she decided to file a report with the RCMP against the man, because these types of incidents continue to happen to people in the media industry.
“Enough is enough. I don’t want anyone to lose their job, I don’t want anyone to have a criminal record, but I just want people to take that extra second and think,” she said.
Batchelor added that she came forward because it has happened to so many of her colleagues in the media.
“I just feel like if I didn’t go and do something serious that the optics would be me condoning this and I don’t. I don’t think it’s ok at all.”
Retired Toronto Police sex crimes detective Suzanne Kernohan said Batchelor handled the situation well and did the right thing by reporting the incident to police to deter similar incidents occurring in the future.
“I commend her for standing up because she’s in an excellent position to create awareness about these issues that are occurring more frequently and in essence she is educating the public,” she said.
“Megan is in a position to have the evidence, she has the video and other women may not have the evidence so they’re afraid that people won’t believe them and won’t be supportive to them. I’m here to tell them to come forward and that there is support in place, whether it be within the community groups, whether it be the police, whether it be your friends, I say come forward.”
Batchelor said she was contacted on Twitter by the man claiming to be the one who kissed her and that she spoke to him on the phone.
“He’s very remorseful, he’s embarrassed and he hopes that maybe his voice can help be lent to this cause as well to make it stop,” she said, adding that he said he was “mortified” after realizing the gravity of what he had done.
“So it was really encouraging to talk to him and felt he got my point of view and I’m hoping that maybe his voice will help other people understand as well.”
With files from Lama Nicolas
Comments