FOX 9’s Jason Matheson slams bullies targeting meteorologists, co-host Kendall Mark
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The host of ‘The Jason Show’ said he’s ‘sick’ of having to defend his female colleagues from comments on their appearance.
Jason Matheson, the host of FOX 9’s “The Jason Show,” spoke out in defense of the station’s meteorologists and his co-host Kendall Mark after they were subjected to “vicious” comments and even threats following this week’s winter storm.
The amount of snowfall received in the storm led to some complaints online that concerns over the size of the storm – and the decision to close schools and advise people to stay home – were overblown, despite plenty of places in the Twin Cities falling within the 16-21 inches forecasters ultimately predicted, after models earlier in the week had suggested 19-25 inches was possible.
But some particularly unhappy people were so affronted by the preparations taken to limit the impact of the storm that they have been hurling abuse at meteorologists including those at FOX 9, with Mark also on the receiving end of criticism in her role as the FOX 9 traffic report, though Matheson said the criticism was solely about her appearance.
Becoming emotional as he defended his co-host, Matheson said: “Yesterday this one [gesturing to Mark] was on the receiving end of unnecessary attacks on her appearance, people not liking her skirt, people calling the station to complain about it.”
“They were not commenting on the fact my little sister and my friend had spent a really hard 48 hours of work … to keep all of us safe reporting on traffic conditions … nobody called to comment on her work ethic or her professionalism,” he continued.
“It’s amazing because she doesn’t deserve it, and again she can’t defend herself because she’ll look like she’s taking advantage of the situation, but I can, because you know what happens when you pick on little sisters, you have angry big brothers,” Matheson said, to applause from the studio audience.
“In this case you several big brothers who aren’t real happy right now,” he continued, turning to Mark: “I love you, don’t you listen to those comments, you are beautiful the way that you are. You are professional, you’re grace under fire, you did a great job for this station in the past few days … those comments are not about you, it’s about the people writing them … it says everything about them and nothing about you.”
Matheson earlier recounted his early days in the industry at WCCO, when he would take viewer calls and messages, and described how many of them would be commenting on the outfits of Amelia Santaniello.
“Not commenting on her professionalism, not commenting on her work ethic, but commenting on her hair, the length of her skirt, how she looked in a certain outfit,” he said.
“Never once in the.3 years I worked at WCCO did I take a comment about a male colleague of mine.”
“Two years ago I had to stop down this show to defend another female colleague … Elizabeth Reese, my friend from our competing show ‘Twin Cities Live,’ who was on the receiving end of some of the grossest comments I have ever read about, you guessed it, her appearance.”
Matheson said the FOX 9 weather team been subjected to “vicious, horrible attacks” that included homophobic comments and violent threats.
“All because of snow,” he said.
“The science of meteorology isn’t a perfect science, if it was or if it was easy we could all do it. These professionals look at 10-12 models and look at that data and craft a forecast to keep all of us safe, and they do the best that they can to keep us safe,” he said.
“Criticism they can take, violence and unnecessary vitriol, no … they can’t defend themselves without getting in trouble, but I sure as hell can defend them.”
You can watch the segment below: