share on
Mexico's corporate sector has come under scrutiny following the dismissal of a young female reporter.
The ex-journalist was allegedly fired after she was filmed being carried over a flooded street by and man and a woman while on an assignment covering severe flooding in the city of Puebla in central Mexico.
The reason she was being carried was that she did not want to get her expensive shoes wet.
Lydia Cummings, 24, from Azteca Puebla, was later reportedly fired from her job, which condemned her for acting unprofessionally.
Juan Carlos Valerio, her boss at TV Azteca Puebla, announced in a tweet that she had been sacked within hours after the picture went viral online.
'She was fired yesterday. I'm sorry for what happened. Her attitude is regrettable and for this we sacked her," he told the Daily Mail.
The picture went viral almost instantly with the hashtag #LadyReportera and became the subject of dozens of hilarious memes.
Cummings later posted a video apology on Twitter, saying she takes full responsibility for the photo. “The photos posted lack professionalism and tact. All we wanted to do was help and now we’ve created negativity,” she said.
Soy Lydia Cumming. No #LadyReportera pic.twitter.com/uhio5Dg6Fv
— Lydia Cumming (@LydiaCumming) June 29, 2016
In her defence, she didn’t have the proper clothing, or boots, with her on the assignment.
When the couple offered to carry her, she was scared it would be rude to decline.
“I try to maintain a relationship of empathy with people and was afraid of sounding rude if I refused the favor. I was carried two seconds and then asked them to put me down,” she told Mexican media El Pais.
Despite the drama, the reporter said she still has high hopes for a career in journalism.
“Despite the bitter pill, I want to be a journalist. I love this profession, I have covered several floods, which I got wet and never cared. After all this settles down a little I will keep looking for opportunities,” Cumming told El Pais.
Image: 123RF
