Man Accused Of Slapping Reporter's Backside On Air Facing Charges

Savannah GA

14 December, 2019

11:43 AM

Description

A man accused of slapping a female reporter's backside while she was live on air covering a race has been charged with sexual battery, jail records show. Thomas Callaway, 43, was arrested on Friday, according to the jail records from Chatham County, Georgia. Alex Bozarijan, a reporter for WSAV in Savannah, Georgia, addressed the incident on Twitter and said the man had "violated, objectified and embarrassed" her. To the man who smacked my butt on live TV this morning: You violated, objectified, and embarrassed me. No woman should EVER have to put up with this at work or anywhere!! Do better. https://t.co/PRLXkBY5hn— Alex Bozarjian (@wsavalexb) December 7, 2019Video from Bozarjian's live broadcast Dec. 7 posted online showed one of the passing runners appearing to swat her from behind. The video shows the stunned woman stop talking for a moment and stare as if shocked. The video clip had been viewed more than 11 million times on Twitter as of Friday. "I would say that the reason why, you know, maybe it caught so much fire is because the emotion is extremely relatable for women all over the world," Bozarijan said on "CBS This Morning," addressing the widespread attention the incident had received. Bozarijan also said on the news channel that the slap stung and was a heavy impact. According to Bozarijan's employer, WSAV, she filed a police report with the Savannah Police Department. The news channel issued the following statement: The conduct displayed by one man toward Alex Bozarjian during her live coverage of Saturday's Savannah Bridge Run was reprehensible and completely unacceptable. No one should ever be disrespected in this manner. The safety and protection of our employees is WSAV-TV's highest priority. WSAV supports Alex completely as she determines the steps she wants to take next. In an interview with WSAV, Callaway said he was sorry and asked for forgiveness. The Associated Press contributed to this report.