Correspondent Under Fire From Feminists After Calling Hillary’s Tone ‘Shrill’
A BBC radio correspondent is under fire after making a comment that Hillary Clinton‘s tone is “shrill.” HuffPost UK reports that presenter James Naughtie was talking about Clinton at the Democratic National Convention when one of the presenters asked if she had a “woman problem.”
“She does. There’s something about her which puts some people off. It’s partly the history. It’s partly the slightly shrill tone which she tends to adopt sometimes in speeches,” Naughtie said.
Feminist author Caroline Criado-Perez reportedly called the comment “gobsmacking.”
Fascinating how invested many men seem to be in Hillary Clinton having a shrill voice – her voice is pretty deep tbh https://t.co/4WJLkiQHxE
— Caroline CriadoPerez (@CCriadoPerez) July 28, 2016
Twitter certainly responded too:
I was beyond disappointed yesterday to hear James Naughtie describe Hilary as shrill on @BBCRadio4 Today https://t.co/xfEgr5os0P
— Katherine Stansfield (@K_Stansfield) July 29, 2016
Acceptable reasons to dislike Hillary Clinton – a short guide (FYI James Naughtie – shrill isn’t one) https://t.co/6SkOptjQLJ
— Felicity Morse (@FelicityMorse) July 28, 2016
Jim Naughtie, ‘shrill’ is a sexist term. Do not use it. Women have higher pitched voices. No. Big. Deal. #radio4today #everydaysexism
— Lottie Young (@lottie_young) July 28, 2016
Hillary Clinton has a “shrill tone”?? Enough of the sexist bullshit, please, James Naughtie. #r4today
— Kate Marzillier (@marzillk) July 28, 2016
The Huff Post got a statement from a BBC spokeswoman who said the BBC presenter was“conveying in his commentary and analysis the perceptions of Hillary Clinton by US voters.”
