World Cup Reporter Groped And Kissed On Live TV By An Unidentified Man

A woman reporter who was at the World Cup streaming live was assaulted on air by an unidentified man. The man brazenly went up to Julieth Gonzalez Theran, and while she was reporting for the German news channel Deutsche Welle, he grabbed her breast and kissed her on the cheek. Instead of reacting, however, Theran completed her segment without skipping a beat, described Yahoo News.

Theran described how she had no indication that someone would assault her this way while she had been preparing for the broadcast.

“I had been at the scene for two hours to prepare for the broadcast and there had been no interruptions … When we went live, this fan took advantage of the situation. But afterwards, when I checked to see if he was still there, he was gone.”

But just because she didn’t say anything on air about the assault, didn’t mean that she was going to let it slide. Theran took to social media to blast the man’s behavior, saying that “RESPECT! We do not deserve this treatment … We are equally valuable and professional … I share the joy of football, but we must identify the limits of affection and harassment.” Women and men from all around the world agree with Theran, with others applauding her professionalism while on air.

One notable critic of the man is Bibiana Steinhaus, who is Germany’s first female referee in the Bundesliga. She said the man’s actions could be attributed to the “macho-dominated sports culture” and said that “I feel for [Theran] because this type of attack has happened several times in the past … Don’t kid yourself that similar misogynist things do not happen.”

German reporter Julieth Gonzalez Theran was groped, kissed on the cheek during the middle of her live #WorldCup report in Russia last week. https://t.co/DOoErkXlKy

— Ryan Young (@RyanYoung44) June 20, 2018

Theran has also added that “For me it is an isolated incident. There are always fans that compliment you and behave respectfully. This one went too far … We must clearly deal with this problem,” according to DW.

The constant worry of being interrupted during a live TV broadcast is not new for reporters. Just recently in Cologne, Germany, another woman reporter was groped live on air. That reporter’s name is Esmeralda Labye, and a man groped her breast and kissed her neck while she was reporting on a carnival. The man, a 17-year-old, has turned himself in to police and says that he didn’t have “sexually motivated intentions,” according to Metro. However, Labye says that the man whispered to her, “Would you like to sleep with me tonight?”