Michigan governor slams discussion of her appearance: ‘Way out of line’

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) slammed discussions of her appearance in the media during her State of the State speech earlier the week, calling them “way out of line.”

“Boys have teased me about my curves since 5th grade,” the new governor tweeted. “My mom said ‘hold your head high and don’t let it bother you.’ That @Fox2News story was way out of line. I’m tough, I can take it.”

“In my speech I was encouraging people to see the humanity in one another in this cruel political environment. In an era when so many women are stepping up to lead, I’m hoping people will focus on our ideas and accomplishments instead of our appearance.”

{mosads}”Until then, I’ve got a message for all of the women and girls like mine who have to deal with garbage like this every day: I’ve got your back,” she concluded. 

Boys have teased me about my curves since 5th grade. My mom said “hold your head high and don’t let it bother you.”

That @Fox2News story was way out of line.

I’m tough, I can take it.

— Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@gretchenwhitmer) February 14, 2019

The story she references came from Detroit Fox affiliate Fox 2 and is titled “Social media focuses on Whitmer’s dress – not her address.”

The article is a compilation of social media comments on Whitmer’s State of the State address that focused on her appearance.

It includes explicit posts about her body parts, like “nice rack” or “heavy up top.”

Fox 2 explained that “the reaction to Whitmer’s address online, was more so, on her actual dress.” But news site Michigan Advance pointed out that those kind of comments did not appear in top searches on social media about her speech.

The speech from the Michigan governor, who served 14 years in the state legislature prior to her election, focused on infrastructure investment and water.

Fox 2 did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill on Whitmer’s response to their story.