A pregnant Seattle meteorologist stormed back against a critic who claimed that her form-fitting outfits that showed off her baby bump during live broadcasts “distracts” viewers.
Claire Anderson, who is 7-and-a-half-month pregnant, is a meteorologist for Fox 13 Seattle and showed off the demeaning email she received to her 10,000 TikTok followers earlier this month.
“Please, please, please, pack away form-fitting dresses until after the baby,” the viewer named Kathy wrote to Anderson. “Your mommy bump has gotten so big that your overall appearance distracts from your presentation.”
Kathy suggested to the TV presenter that it would be best to try “something loose and flowing” instead of the meteorologist’s form-fitting clothing she wears during each broadcast.
“You give some of the best presentations on TV, so you deserve the undistracted attention of the viewers,” the message read.
The body-shamer signed the email “very respectfully” to seemingly show she wasn’t being rude.
Anderson is due in Jan. 2025 and is her first child with husband Garret, who she married in Sept. 2023.
“Here’s the thing Kathy, I appreciate that, but remember we’re never supposed to comment on what women wear and look like,” Anderson said. “Especially when we’re pregnant.”
Anderson then gave a rundown of the cream-colored, fitted knee-length dress she wore that became the lightning rod for the negative comments.
“I don’t know, here’s the thing, she’s still got two months of this,” Anderson said in the clip calling out Kathy’s dislike of her appearance.
The Seattle native, who started working at the station in 2023, says she was “feeling great” when she picked out the dress but was surprised when she returned to her desk after her segment and discovered Kathy’s email.
“I come back, and I see that email, and I was like, ‘Oh man. Like, really? Bad stuff,” Anderson told Today.
Kathy’s email wasn’t the only one that Anderson received that criticized her for her attire but was the one that made the biggest impact.
Anderson recorded the short video on social media to bring up the conversation about women supporting women.
“It’s 2024, women support women, yet we still have the nastiest emails from women,” she told the outlet.
Anderson called out the critics for commenting on a woman’s pregnant body because they don’t know the full backstory of their life.
“My message was just like, ‘Guys, remember, we are in a time, in place, in the world, where we don’t need to be commenting on someone’s body unless you think it looks amazing,” Anderson said. “Unless someone asks you how they look, we don’t need to be commenting.”
“Especially in this day and age, fertility and being pregnant — people are open about it,” she added. “We don’t know how long did it take to get pregnant? How hard was it? Was it emotional? Was it hard for you? Are you having a good pregnancy? Are you having a hard time?”
Many comments under Anderson’s original TikTok were positive and supportive of the TV personality.
“I love love love when women wear their baby bump loud and proud!!!” one comment read.
“Respectfully (or maybe not) disagree with her. Show off that bump!!! ❤️❤️congrats!!” another wrote.
On Wednesday, Anderson was back in the studio, this time in a gold, long-sleeved dress showing off her bump in a pic posted to her Instagram story.
