In a special four-minute comment that aired during this morning's news broadcast on La Crosse, Wisconsin's CBS affiliate WKBT, news anchor/reporter Jennifer Livingston responded to a viewer who wrote in to the station to chide Livingston for not providing "a suitable example for this community's young people, girls in particular," by appearing on television despite being overweight.

The letter had already gone viral thanks to Livingston's husband, 6 and 10 anchor Mike Thompson, who posted it on his Facebook page, calling it "infuriating" and "sick."

"The truth is, I am overweight," Livingston acknowledged. "You can call me fat - and yes, even obese on a doctor's chart. But to the person who wrote me that letter, do you think I don't know that? That your cruel words are pointing out something that I don't see?"

She continued:

You don't know me. You are not a friend of mine. You are not a part of my family, and you have admitted you don't watch this show. You know nothing about me but what you see on the outside, and I am much more than a number on a scale.

Proving that she was most certainly "a suitable example for this community's young people," and "girls in particular," Livingston concluded her necessary rant with an appeal to bullied children everywhere.

To all of the children out there who feel lost, who are struggling with your weight, with the color of your skin, your sexual preference, your disability, even the acne on your face, listen to me right now. Do not let your self-worth be defined by bullies. Learn from my experience - that the cruel words of one are nothing compared to the shouts of many.

[H/T: ShortFormBlog, screengrab via News8000]