FHRITP – now this is an acronym I am shocked/sad to be writing about! F&$k Her Right In The P*^@sy had its unfortunate start in January of 2014, but is making headline news right now.
For those not aware of what FHRITP is, in short (mostly) boys and men are running up to reporters when they are live on air and yelling FHRITP directly into the microphone. Let me also note that these reporters are usually women.
This past weekend at a sporting event in Toronto, Shauna Hunt – a reporter for CityTV news – was interviewing a man when FHRITP happened to her. Instead of continuing on with her interview she decided to confront them about it.
With the world that we live in, the video went viral. In the last 24 hours it has been shared over and over on Facebook and news websites around the world. Let the fall out begin! One of the men in the video was recognized and has since been fired from his government job at Hydro One (the Province of Ontario’s Hydro/Electricity Organization). Not only that, because he is a public servant, his name and salary were discovered and of course shared over and over again.
After a chat in the PTPA office this morning we find that we have different thoughts on the outcome.
First let me say that we all agree that what they did was completely wrong and discriminating. Nobody goes to work to be treated that way, and I personally think that if that was me I may have punched the dude in the nose… I digress.
Here is where we are split:
1 group of us thinks
- He should absolutely be fired
- The example needed to start somewhere and this may get people thinking twice before they “prank” reporters
- Being drunk is not an excuse for that type of behaviour
- They purposefully sought out the attention in the first place
The other group thinks
- Losing his job is a little much
- What if he has a family to support
- Of course it was stupid, his embarrassment is lesson enough
- He was not on duty working, or wearing Hydro One clothing
We want to hear from you! What are your thoughts on people doing FHRITP live on air? Do you think that the punishment is fair or a little too harsh?
What do you think about this?
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I love that Shauna called those guys out on their comments. It’s outrageous that people think they can behave in such an inappropriate manner and get away with it.
BUT as much as I think their behaviour is disgusting and quite frankly ridiculously immature, I don’t think it impacts their ability to do their job.
It doesn’t look good on their employer because their employers name got pulled into the conversation but I have to wonder how many dumb things we all say on our “down-time”. I would hate to think that my ability to run my company or be employable could be directly impacted by what I choose to do on a Saturday night and choose to say in a group of friends.
Of course, I would like to think I would not choose to behave like a fool on live television! So in short (or not so short), I think he should be able to keep his job and I think his stupidity will live on in the internet for many years to come and that is a pretty good form of punishment.
This is verbal abuse, and/or sexual harassment. The fact that he continued to talk, like an idiot, and say disgusting things to the reporter (re: the vibrator comment) leads me to believe that his comments and actions are more in line with his personality than just a “too much too drink” moment of stupidity. If he broke his company’s code of conduct (which appears to be true) then the consequences fit.
First off, the whole f*** her in her p***** thing is ridiculous. And annoying. But the person who was fired should have been fired. Someone recognized him and found out where he worked and now it looks bad on the company. No matter what company it is. Businesses want to be seen as good, not vulgar and the employee’s actions outside of work can have an impact on the company. Whether you like it or not. Just like the girl who was fired immediately after being hired at a daycare,because she posted that she hates working with kids right after she was hired on the spot at an interview with a daycare. Yes, that is a different situation but all in the same league. If you are caught saying stuff like this especially since it is a horrible thing to say, especially on live tv, then you deserve the harsh reaction.
Did he really think about his family when he said that? What would he want his kids to think about this? What about the reporter and her feelings? I don’t always uphold a goody two shoes behavior but I do think about consequences and only act freely when I know it won’t hurt or harm myself or others or my reputation. But of course I have never intentionally verbally harmed or insulted anyone nor would I do something as stupid as this, let alone on tv.
I think good for them for turning the tables on this guy. Whether he was drunk or not. This is not a stunt I’d hope anyone would want to be a part of. Come on!
On the other hand, if it were something different, not as vulgar and insulting, then no he shouldn’t have lost his job. But this is harassment and vulgar and was on live tv.
But I am pretty sure that Most companies have a policy on harassment, especially sexual harassment and this would be going against it, even though it’s not during work hours. It’s still a crime and should be considered for termination. But like I said in previous comment, if it hadn’t been this severe or this type of action, like maybe just cussing, or running through or whatever, it wouldn’t be so bad and therfore not deserve such harsh treatment
There is no excuse for this behaviour. Sober or drunk this kind of harassment, or acceptance and encouraging of it is shameful. Regardless of whether you are on work hours or not – it speaks volumes of your character and core values. It is one thing to speak vulgar in the privacy of your own home with close friends (still shameful) and announcing it on a public stage. If society does nothing it only shows we don’t think it’s a big deal and does nothing to stop it. Kudos on the company for firing the employee. If he is willing to display this kind of morality in public during ‘personal’ time then how committed to the code of conduct during work hours is he really?
Clients, co-workers, etc could have witnessed this gem and if the employer doesn’t step up to dis alpine the person, it reflects poorly on both the company and the man.
If society did more than shock and horror over displays like this, sport players beating wives/girlfriends, etc, then perhaps ‘we’ could start to make changes
I think doing something like this one camera, live tv, is what is excessive. If he had made a comment on some social media website while in privacy of his own home, I might feel differently. Butt he was in a public place, doing something he had no business doing. He deserves what he got for that. To me that is public harassment.
Let’s bring this back to the issue which is not whether or not he should be fired but rather women are sexually harrassed every day. We all have a role to play and I hope, given this is a parents’ group, that we all instill respect to each other and our children. What are you going to do combat this attitude and behaviour?
It shows a remarkable lack of judgment for him to continue to argue that this is funny on camera instead of running away. He’s on the sunshine list making 106,000. Do I want someone like him working in a supervisory position where he could be overseeing female employees? Nope. Would I feel okay, as a woman,about working for him ? Nope. Karma can be awesome.
As a human being out in public there is a certain unwritten code of humanity where we should always respect others. We have all made mistakes, but when someone goes out of their way to attract attention in front of what they know is a live audience, one should think before they speak.
These guys probably had a little too much to drink and were showing off in front of their friends, and it seemed their plan backfired.
When these guys made the decision to say what they said, there were not only representing themselves, they were representing their families, their Employers, their wives and kids, etc.
I would hope that they realize they made a big mistake trying to be the “Class clown” for a 1 minute of fame moment.
Sharon I tend to agree but think it goes a little further than that. As a CEO, what would you do if one of your employees was caught on tape (or wherever) acting disorderly, drunk, swearing…do you not take that, at least a bit, as a reflection of you and what you represent?
His lack of judgement during his drunken state has now cost him his career and any respect he may have had in the industry. I have no patience for people who are so attention seeking that they think it is appropriate to be rude, vulgar and very disrespectful!
First, I would be disgusted if my child (regardless of their age) acted this way whether it was filmed or not. As for the punishment, I think it’s appropriate. When you work for a company, regardless of the size, you are a representative of that company, whether officially or unofficially. If you are acting a fool in public and people can identify you, you look bad, and I think the employer does too.
Obviously these guys aren’t exactly class acts & I’m sure their mothers/wives/sisters/acquaintances will remind them of this for a long time to come… Their comments were both embarrassing and shameful & kudos to the reporter for calling them out for their behaviour.
I’m quite worried about our willingness to deal with all these things in the court of public opinion. As disgusting as their behavior was, we’ve only seen a couple minutes of their lives… Maybe they they are outstanding human beings in other aspects of their lives – I doubt it, but none of us know.
I suspect that the attention that they’ve drawn to themselves with this would be severely career limiting at the very least, but I don’t see how firing them is an appropriate response. If companies can fire everyone that acts like an idiot at some point in their free time, we’ll have an employment crisis on our hands in no time!
I don’t agree. We helicopter parent way too much in this society. Protecting people from every time they do wrong. It’s time that people learn that socially unacceptable is exactly that unacceptable. People are just not a polite society and if we start reprimanding those that make our world worse then hopefully we can become better people. If all you get is a finger wag we all learn it’s ok to continue doing that.
I agree that these men were behaving badly and I also agree with what their employers did. I believe that when an employee is behaving badly on their off hours it can look poorly on a company because you never know who is watching what you are saying or doing. For instance if an individual worked for an organization that worked with drunk drivers and the individual was caught drunk driver aren’t they than fired for their job. Just because the individual isn’t working doesn’t mean that someone could see the individual and than associate that individual with the entire companies way of thinking.
We as a team at PTPA actually had that exact conversation here yesterday. The team asked what line I would be okay with them crossing before they would be fired. I told them that obviously if they tweeted they are on their way in to a job they hate or a boss they hate, that would be grounds for dimissal but I also felt that if they chose to get drunk on a Saturday night and say dumb things and were overheard by someone, although that would be poor judgement on their part, depending on the commentary, it would not necessarily be grounds for dismissal. I think the biggest mistake this guy made (other than of course being a total idiot) is that he took it to such a public forum and therefore drew extra attention to the fact that he’s an idiot and on that basis I think Hydro One had no choice but to let him go.
Obviously for these guys who were caught on Live TV, they may have acted differently if they knew that there was a possibility that there were consequences for their actions. Whether they were drunk, trying to be funny or they were just voicing their opinions….it is actually finally getting enough attention and hopefully many others will think before they act/ speak. I do feel kind of sorry for the guy who lost his job because he is one of MANY who act so stupidly and feel that they can get away with it. Unfortunately, he had the misfortune of being identified and paying heavy consequences. In today’s day and age with social media, you need to consider what you are posting and what perception people will have, especially on LIVE TV. One video can go viral in seconds and can follow you forever. Clearly he wasn’t thinking! I do believe that if we help our kids see that behaviour, especially in public could have potential consequences, they can avoid embarrassment, internet posts and videos that will follow them and possibly affect their future opportunities. A lesson may be learned by many as a result of this!!!