43-year-old Thomas Callaway was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of sexual battery on Friday in Savannah, GA, after slapping the butt of Alex Borzarjian (a reporter for Savannah NBC affiliate WSAV) during a live television report at Saturday’s Savannah Bridge Run, according to the Associated Press and WSAV.
Borzarjian was doing a live TV shot on the bridge, when Callaway decided to slap her butt while passing by during the run. Video of the incident was posted on social media, and Bozarjian retweeted it with a comment.
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 (@alexbozarjiantv) December 7, 2019
“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.”
The video quickly generated a ton of reaction, and the Savannah Sports Council announced on Sunday that Callaway is banned from their future races. And on Tuesday, Borzarjian went on national TV — CBS This Morning — to speak more on the incident:
"It's not okay to help yourself to a woman's body just because you feel like it… in order to make any kind of change, you have to be a little bit drastic. And you have to… chip away at this toxic culture that permeates our society." — @WSAVAlexB pic.twitter.com/tYsvu0uFiW
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) December 10, 2019
“It’s not okay to help yourself to a woman’s body just because you feel like it… in order to make any kind of change, you have to be a little bit drastic. And you have to… chip away at this toxic culture that permeates our society.”
“He took my power, and I’m trying to take that back. …I think what it really comes down to is that he helped himself to a part of my body. …I would say the reason why maybe it caught so much fire is because the emotion is extremely relatable for women all over the world.”
Meanwhile, the CBS-distributed Inside Edition decided to give Callaway a platform Tuesday, and took a lot of criticism for that.
As per the criminal side of this, Bozarjian filed a police report on Monday. WSAV reports that Callaway “turned himself in Friday at the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office and has since been released on $1,300 bond.” The AP adds that sexual battery “is a misdemeanor in Georgia, punishable by up to a year in jail.” And WSAV released a statement about the arrest:
“The conduct displayed 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 continues to support Alex completely as this case moves forward.”
