Photo Credit: WTKR.com
If this story needed a preface, the golden rule of saying nothing if you have nothing nice to say would be fitting.
Barbara Ciara, a news anchor for WTKR 3 named — a CBS affiliate that is broadcast in areas of Virginia and North Carolina — found herself being trolled for her on-air style. Apparently, a viewer took issue with her fashion she chose to wear that day, particularly her jewelry.
“All the female reporters and anchors wear little to no jewelry but B Ciara wears the biggest and worst jewelry I have ever seen, please have her play by all the same rules as every one else,” a man emailed the station.
Ciara was notified of the comment and confidently clapped back on her Facebook page, pointing out that the man should have been simply watching the news like everyone else and less concerned about her style choices: “On a day where a multi-million dollar lawsuit was filed against one of our regional jails, A Navy Seal lost his life during training, The Mayor of Suffolk delivered her state of the city address, and an overlooked neighborhood in the East End of Newport News finally gets a grocery store– you noticed my jewelry.” “#Beenaroundtoolongtobebullied,” she concluded the post.
Mediaite actually caught up with the designer of the jewelry, Robyne Robinson, who shared that she is a former news anchor who designs with on-air talent in mind. “Jewelry can disappear on the screen… and some news anchors like beautiful pieces that can be seen,” she explained. Robinson refers to her ROX brand as “exotic, affordable jewelry sold globally.” Celebrities like Judith Light, Carolyn Hennesy, Paula Newsome, SanaaLathan, Lizzo and Fab Five Freddy have worn her pieces. Not to mention, it has had its fair share of renowned runways at New York Fashion Week in 2008 and 2011. But for Robinson, creating unique pieces that will be visible under the bright lights of a television studio is most important:
“Viewers will call/email/tweet with unusual comments about your hair, clothing and makeup all the time. Some are rude, some think they’re helping you. Some callers are other anchors to give a big thumbs up. Some were fetishists – really. I had a guy that would call immediately after a newscast to ask what shoes would I wear with the outfit I had on. But my response was always much shorter than Barbara’s: “Did you LISTEN to any of the news?” I always took my calls. Callers are brave. They aren’t afraid to get a response. E-mailers and folks who tweet are cowards.”
Well, if that ain’t the truth!
