Monday, January 18, 2010

FOX reporter shut down by Chrysler girl



EDITED 1/20/10: It appears that Barrett has pulled the video, not anticipating it would bring such attention. You can read his own blog post about it here. Lauren, the model in question, has chimed in to the conversation in his comment section.

FOX Toledo reporter Barrett Andrews thought he could be sly by slipping a come-on into his chat with a lovely auto show model who kindly humored him by granting an interview request.

We don't have to do that, by the way. We are under no obligation to give recorded interviews if we are uncomfortable doing so. Lauren very kindly played along with his seemingly innocent line of questioning, even mentioning the tired "Do you come with the car?" line. It was a cute interview, a run-of-the-mill human interest piece that would have been quickly forgotten in the news of the day if Barrett hadn't set himself up for a fall.

I LOVE how she doesn't even dignify him with a response. She does what all good auto show models do: simply rolls her eyes, turns on her heel and walks away. We have no time for this nonsense.

Joking or no, for him to do that on-camera, while both of them are working by the way, is even tackier and for that his rejection is even more richly deserved.

Edited to add: And also? Autoblog just picked this up and gave me a great shout-out. Thanks so much, guys!

27 comments:

  1. I didn't go to the auto show but from the auto journal sites that covered it, I have seen this model (Lauren?) in the background of some of the pictures.. I must say, she is absolutely gorgeous.

    Don't misunderstand me, I'm not a creep, or a perv, nor am I desparate; simply put, she is infinitely more attractive and interesting than any of the cars at the show. I'd feel as if I were being disrespectful by not giving more attention to her rather than the car, after all, it's just a car.

    I just read an article about a model's rant on Jalopnik today which has inspired me to write this. I have no idea who wrote the article other than it being link to a writer on this blog. So this I say to you:

    There are one or two of us who can appreciate your beauty with equal respect to your whole person. I do not know what the person looked like who wrote that article on Jalopnik, but I was instantly attracted to you by your wit, your confidence, and your charisma that endowed your writing.

    I post as Aaron on Autoblog regularly, you may respond or retort at will if you still think I have it all wrong.

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  2. There is a reason why the reporter is not in a major market; and I think we just saw it.

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  3. Actually, Toledo is a major news market. NY and other larger populated cities draft reporters from Toledo all of the time.
    I wouldn't be surprised if the question was staged to reinforce the reaction of the model to all of the viewers.

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  4. Hey,

    I'm sure others have made this comment on your blog/on Jalopnik/on other websites, but I'm not really going to check. If it's been said, it should be said again.

    I do not ogle or heckle the models at car shows, but you signed up for it. You took a job dressing skimpily and posing in front of cars. Car shows are all about man-stuff and a model's opinion isn't going to change it.

    They don't hire ugly girls to be car models, and that absolutely stunning Chrysler girl (much prettier than anything Chrysler offers, that's for sure) isn't wearing that tiny reflective dress to inform consumers about the advantages of direct injection, no matter how much she may know about it. The "booth babes" are eye candy, pure and simple. If it were really about information, they'd just have an engineer up on the stand.

    Now I'm not saying it's cool to harass models on the stand, or to do any of the things you complain about on your blog. But you don't really expect that dudes are ever gonna stop? It's all about testosterone: cars and girls get it flowing. I don't like it either, but you're the one wearing the disco tube. If you don't like it, get together with a group of models and make it change. You are the only one who can defend your own dignity.

    On the other hand, if you're just venting, I guess that's cool. If you're willing to put up with the behavior you complain about on this blog in exchange for what is probably decent money, then I'm happy for you. Rant on. Just don't expect that we males are going to suppress our natural instincts.

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  5. Rading that comment I realize it sounded pretty mean. I think my point was really this: if you're not okay with car show ogling, then change it. You're a model, you get paid to look pretty. If you want to be taken more seriously, get a bunch of girls together and say you won't do it any more: you want to wear a polo shirt and khakis and an earpiece and a nametag and stand on the ground explaining real stuff about the cars. Make the booth-babe job into a pretty-person-who-knows-stuff job. Because nobody is going to stop staring at you if you're dressed to be stared at, and nobody's going to take you seriously unless you make them.

    That's all.

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  6. Don't Quit Your Day JobJanuary 18, 2010 at 1:38 PM

    Fox News and spokesmodel. Both entertainers (although whether or not you are entertained by this 5th grade quality skit is highly subjective).

    The last paragraph of your post: "Joking or no, for him to do that on-camera, while both of them are working by the way, is even tackier and for that his rejection is even more richly deserved" is really quite funny. Unintentionally funny, but funny nonetheless.

    IT'S ENTERTAINMENT. YOU ARE AN ENTERTAINER. You may be smarter than I am (which I doubt). You may know more about cars than I do (which I also doubt). And I may not have enough money to buy the car you would come with, baby (which I actually know not to be true), but we can agree to disagree on all of those points. The fact of the matter is this; if you're paid to be a spokesmodel, which you are, YOU ARE PAID TO HAVE TIME FOR THIS SORT OF THING. So quit taking yourself so seriously, shave your legs and put on a happy face.

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  7. That's funny. It was probably a fun drama setup for the segment though...

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  8. I say setup. Most of the tv news crews shooting at the car shows follow pretty conventional scripts and narratives. It wouldn't surprise me if some of the product specialists know more than a local tv new reporter - the Detroit local tv news crews are an exception, some of the local tv folks know cars and the biz, WDIV's Rod Meloni and Guy Gordon come to mind, but even they have to regurgitate press releases sometimes.

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  9. He was being an idiot.

    She's being paid to draw attention to the car, and inform the public with a pretty smile. You can call dealing with the mouth-breathers an occupational hazard, but the guy was definitely out of line, and deserved what he got.

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  10. Ah, the Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory in action. What a treat to observe.

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  11. The guy was just being a goof ball and playing it up for yucks. She got to be on camera and played along. Way to PC round here.

    By the way, she is a gorgeous model. Wonder how many of those guys stalking around in the background have her in their cameras....

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  12. Definite setup... her body language does not say "angry and offended". It says "I'm performing for the camera".

    FWIW, these men and women should be respected, but it's still true that you are hired to look pretty and be able to answer questions.

    I suppose that's why your posts are polarizing, but if she weren't attractive, she wouldn't be a "booth babe". (and she's wouldn't be hit on either).

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  13. If you believe for one second that wasn't staged, I have a bridge in Brooklyn for sale. Real good deal too, special, just for you.

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  14. I spoke with hr briefly at the show while taking pictures of the Chrysler concept and she seemed very friendly...then again, I wasnt being such a turd.

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  15. Even if it was staged that guy's an idiot. I see this all the time when I go to car shows and as a guy I cringe when I see it. It is true these girls are paid to look pretty but they aren't objects and should be treated like human beings. Any guy with half a brain knows this isn't how you treat a girl.

    Personally I think instead of putting these girls on literal pedestals all sexed up it would be better for them to be on the floor. Train them as saleswomen/spokeswomen give them a commission and let people talk to them within the context of the cars on display. I bet MANY more cars would be sold at shows and the models wouldn't have to deal with the comments as much.

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  16. I love going to auto shows and listening in on conversations with models. It's rarely about the car they model is standing in front of, cracks me up.

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  17. "Personally I think instead of putting these girls on literal pedestals all sexed up it would be better for them to be on the floor..."

    At most booths (not all) we go back and forth between the platform and the floor, and most of us are wearing business suits or casualwear, not mini dresses. It doesn't matter. Pervs will be pervs and gentlemen will be gentlemen regardless of wardrobe or location.

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  18. looks to me like they planned it for some humor...At least I hope so!

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  19. Smart girl - she walked away with dignity. When will you guys learn that beyond the makeup, tight clothing and high heels that there's a REAL person standing there?? A girl who eats, breathes and, yes, poops too.

    This girl was sweet enough to kindly tell him she was interested in talking to him, but then he decided to use his camera and faux celebrity status to... pick her up??! Methinks he's compensating for something.

    Being a male, I completely sympathize with his reaction at the end; however, he completely deserved it. He must've been suffering from a self fulfilling prophecy: he probably felt inadequete to begin with and then used this opportunity to prove to himself and validate his feelings of inadequecy.

    Lauren's a pretty girl, say hi, smile back and all of us will be on our way. Lol. Can't say this dude didn't deserve to be shot down though... lol.

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  20. True story:
    I used to race vintage with a guy who worked for Rupert Murdoch who owns Fox, along with a bunch of tabloids (the ones at the supermarket checkout with outrageousl lies on the cover ("Jesus impregnated alien" type) and a few daily newspapers, mostly identified by the topless model on page 3. This guy was the front man who purchased many of these properties. One day, an advertising guy we knew asked him if he ever read any of his papers? "Rarely," he replied. "Aren't you ashamed of the crap they print?", "Well," he said, "I do find it 'interesting' but once I look at the bottom line (the profit), I'm all smiles!"
    Fox, like these tabloids, is only in it for the money. No journalistic integrity at all, hell, no journalism!
    BTW, the head of Fox "News" is Roger Ailes, the greatest political scumbag of all times, who got Richard Nixon elected.

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  21. the formerly (now spelled correctly) amazing PhilJanuary 19, 2010 at 2:18 AM

    That really looked staged to me...at least on his part. His dejection was too pronounced and what guy who has seriously been dissed is going to let the film be shown when it's his cameras doing the filming?

    That said, these women know what they are getting into, it's part of the job. If you really want to get the goat of women like this IGNORE them. It kills them!

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  22. I wanted to take the chance to speak for myself on my own blog:

    http://blogs.foxtoledo.com/2010/01/19/addressing-the-uncut-naias-model-interview-situation/

    In short, it was a joke, she knew it was a joke, she agreed to participate in the joke, and afterwards she asked me if she could later watch it online.

    Still, I've learned a lesson about humor -- not everyone gets it all the time. And in a world where videos travel to thousands of eyes in a split second, one has to take that into consideration.

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  23. video.aol.fr/video-detail/checking-out-the-models-at-naias-2010/2086063996/?icid=VIDURV06

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  24. HI!
    Love reading this +the model rant on jalopnik!
    BUT could u please u please post the fox interview again?
    Even Up here in NORWAY/Hungary were im now we now the FOX"news" isent news its just false information -and I havent even been to the states!
    Love from europe people!

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  25. Lauren commented on my blog here:

    http://blogs.foxtoledo.com/2010/01/19/addressing-the-uncut-naias-model-interview-situation/#comments

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  26. That was a reaction that was expected but it came out of the blue when it could have fluttered anybody but the girl gave a complete packet of professionalism she knows how to take on situations and turn them in her favor.

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