CityTV reporter Shauna Hunt confronts Toronto FC fans who obstinately defend another man who yelled a popular vulgar phrase during an on-air interview. One man who has been identified for being crude and swearing on air, will be fired from his six ffigure job.
Photo Credit: CityTV news

Crude prank backfires badly

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It started as a video hoax in Jan 2014 by an American filmmaker John Cain. In the first video, Cain as a reporter makes the crude remark apparently as an outtake that was aired by mistake during a news show. A second video has him disguised and he rushes into the scene of what appears to be a female reporter in a live broadcast, grabs the mike and yells the crude phrase.

Both were faked, but when uploaded onto social media, went viral.

Since then many, mostly young men who believed the faked events were real, have emulated the act in incidents across the USA, and in Canada.

Female reporter fights back.

City TV reporter Shauna Hunt was covering a Toronto FC football match (soccer) and had been taunted with vulgarities while trying to report. After several similar incidents in the past few months, she then decided to confront some of the men on camera about why they were doing it.

CITY NEW REPORT FROM YOUTUBE

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On Sunday a man interrupted the live interview as Shauna Hunt interviews soccer fans to say to crude phrase. © City News

The men are very dismissive and added vulgarity to the equation by suggested it was  “f—-hilarious” to do and that the reporter was lucky there wasn’t a vibrator available.

Reporter as hero..”pranksters” zero

Since the confrontation has aired, Shauna Hunt has been hailed as a hero for standing up to the individuals, Even federal politicians have weighed in on the matter congratulating the reporter and suggesting criminal charges could be laid.

In fact Hydro One, where one of the men works and earns a six-figure salary as an engineer, has said it plans to fire him.

“Hydro One is taking steps to terminate the employee for violating our code of conduct,” said Hydro One’s director of corporate affairs Daffyd Roderick in a statement. “Respect for all people is engrained in the code and our values. We are committed to a work environment where discrimination or harassment of any type is met with zero tolerance.”

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In its discussion of the vulgar practice, City news ran clips of several female reporters at news staions across North America being videobombed by individuals yelling the crude phrase. © CityTv news

Another man has been identified by his company which said it plans undisclosed disciplinary action. A spokeswoman for Cognex Corporation

said the views expressed in the video were “reprehensible” and inconsistent with Cognex’s values, adding, “We cannot comment on employee matters publicly, but we take this issue seriously and will be addressing it.”

In a statement the Toronto FC team owners, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which also owns the Maple Leafs NHL team, and the Toronto Raptors NBA team, said the men would face a one-year ban from games.  “We’re appalled that this trend of disrespectful behavior would make its way to our city, let alone anywhere near our stadium. We are working to identify the individuals, and when we do, they will be banned from all of our facilities.”

Legal actions

Toronto police say they are exploring legal charges in such incidents, but police in Calgary Alberta have gone further.

The police have since sent a statement to all broadcasters in the city saying  “…We had a legal opinion obtained and have concluded this activity constitutes grounds for a charge and arrest.”

The letter says, “Please report it to us as soon as possible so that we can follow up on it. I think if we collectively address this early, it may mitigate similar occurrences in the future.”

It is now thought that with the very serious consequences of a lost job for one such perpetrator, others might think twice about copying these infantile, and crude acts.

 

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