Weekend Morning Anchor Susan Bahorich of WDBJ7 out of Roanoke, Virginia was assigned the difficult task of narrating a brief piece about an area feline who was using swimming as a means to shed some kitty-pounds. While Susan gave it her best, things quickly descended into a giggle-fest and the footage of her uncontrollable laughter combined with the visuals of said cat has gone viral.
Popular website BuzzFeed called Bahorich’s actions “very unprofessional” and then took a shot at her weight with the following, “At least the cat is getting some exercise, Susan.”
I know cat lovers take this kind of stuff pretty seriously but the comment made towards Susan seems a little below the belt. Just about anywhere this has been shared, the same negative sentiment has popped up. At Gawker a commenter stated, “I wonder if the cat would laugh as hard if she had to read a story about that news anchor having to lose weight.” And on one of the YouTube shares someone replied, “b!tch, you should swim like this cat, maybe you lose some weight… so we can laugh at you.”
It was an honest mistake by Susan and I’m sorry but the copy Susan had to read combined with the images of a soaking wet cat in full swimming gear with seriously bugged out eyes could’ve made even a seasoned veteran slip up. Susan is a cat owner herself and had the following to say about the clip via her Facebook page:
I hope she’s (the cat) not in pain, but she certainly looks uncomfortable. I know my cat would NOT let me do this to her (and I know better!).
Susan has been with the network since 2004.
