Kentucky reporter Sara Rivest kissed on live TV says: 'This is not OK'
Sara Rivest was reporting for NBC affiliate WAVE 3 in Louisville about the Bourbon and Beyond festival Friday when three men started making a commotion around her. A man in a black shirt and sunglasses pauses in her shot, then two men in red shirts pass in front of her and behind her. She gets briefly distracted but maintains her composure while detailing the festival's new location.
She is midsentence when the man in the black shirt returns and plants a kiss on her cheek. "It's allowing people to focus on the fun, on the music, on the bour ... O-o-o-kay," she reacts while pulling away.
"OK, that was not appropriate," Rivest says as she chuckles. "Let’s just go to the story.” After the package runs, a male anchor in the studio asks Rivest if she is alright and "free from the kissing bandit," pointing to a nearby police officer and offering to "come down there and protect you.”
"Yeah, I might need some help” she responds, laughing.
Rivest reported the incident to police, and the man has since been identified as Eric Goodman, according to the Louisville Metro Police Department. Goodman has been charged with harassment with physical contact, a misdemeanor, and was issued a summons to appear in court, a department spokesman told NBC News on Thursday.
Prior to his being identified, Rivest tweeted the video segment from Friday, writing “Hey mister, here’s your 3 seconds of fame. How about you not touch me? Thanks!!”
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kentucky-reporter-sara-rivest-kissed-live-tv-says-not-ok-n1058966
= new reply since forum marked as read
That is all to the good. In times not-so-long-past, this crime would have been passed off with some nervous laughter (Rivest herself laughed nervously) and a sniggering remark back at the anchor desk (e.g., "Boys will be boys" or "What do you expect at a bourbon festival?"
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Today, Eric Goodman gets to answer for his actions in a court of law. Maybe we're finally getting to the point of seeing these assaults go the way of the rotary dial telephone.
