Anchorwoman Fires Back At Man Who Called Her Obese

It's the extraordinary on-air rant everyone's talking about. A local news anchor takes time out from her broadcast to hit back at a viewer who called her obese.

"The truth is, I am overweight," said Jennifer Livingston. "You could 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?'"

Now, we're learning something about the guy who called Livingston fat. His name is Kenneth Krause, and he's an attorney in Livingston's hometown of La Crosse, Wisconsin.

A radio station posted a picture on Facebook of a man said to be Krause. He's posing on a mountain bike—clearly in great shape. In the email he sent to Livingston, he told her she should lose weight.

"Obesity is one of the worst choices a person can make. I leave you this note hoping that you'll reconsider your responsibility as a local public personality to present and promote a healthy lifestyle," Krause said in his e-mail.

Now, Facebook users are lashing out at Krause.

One user commented that he is, "A pathetic excuse for a man."

Another said, "People like him make me sick."

"You know nothing about me, but what you see on the outside. And I am much more than a number on a scale," Livingston said during the broadcast.

Livingston says she spoke out to give others courage to stand up for themselves.

"This was a personal attack. It was meant to hurt my feelings. It was meant to shame me into losing weight," said Livingston.

But Livingston herself is now facing criticism.

One blogger called her, "overly sensitive."

"When you are in the public eye, you should be big enough to ignore. What he did was hurtful. She was behaving like a bully," said Donny Deutsch on the Today show.

Finding himself under siege, Krause wrote a follow-up email, and he's sticking to his guns. He's even suggesting that Livingston start a diet right away.

''I hope she will finally take advantage of a rare and golden opportunity. By transforming herself for all of her viewers to see," said Krause.

"Attacks like this are not okay," said Livingston.