Canadian Reporter Michelle Mackey Harassed by 9-Year-Old During Live Broadcast, Condemns Normalized Misogyny

After a disturbing incident during a live segment outside Toronto's Rogers Centre, a Canadian television journalist opened up on the incident. Michelle Mackey, a reporter from CityNews Toronto, was recording when a young boy and an older man passed and shouted a sexually explicit remark, reported the New York Post.

The young dude screamed out "F--k her right in the p-y," borrowing an old Internet meme. The other man laughed at him, while Mackey seemed to visibly change expression from professional to quite disturbed.

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That vulgar phrase has been part of a very well-known meme that became popular in 2014 and has been frequently heard following live recording by an Internet troll of any female reporter. It originated from the videos produced by filmmaker John Cain, which has since faced much disgrace after instigating harassment.

Mackey shared the video with the faces blurred of the child and the man. “This was one of the most alarming things I’ve witnessed as a news reporter. What looked to be an 8 or 9-year-old boy yelled this at me, WITH HIS FATHER BY HIS SIDE. They proceeded to laugh and walk away,” she wrote. The video has since garnered over 3.3 million views.

She added, “Out of respect for the child, I’m blurring their faces. Whether this is yelled at a man or woman, it perpetuates and normalises misogyny. I thought this horrible trend was over.”

She was deeply affected by the incident, according to reports at NBC's TODAY. “I waved them back … I just wanted to be able to look that father and kid in the eye and say, ‘Can you say that again to me, looking me in the eye as a human being?’”

“But they wouldn’t come back. They just laughed and gave me a thumbs up and kept on walking.”

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Mackey said she worried about the boy's young age and called out the adult for not correcting the behaviour but rather encouraging it. Calling the phrase “violating,” Mackey said, “You probably are coming at this from a place of humour, and you probably think this is funny and not harmful, but I just hope you can consider the words that came out of your mouth … And really think about what those words mean. And just ask yourself … would you look in the eye of someone you love and say that to them.”

Mackey's incident got everybody talking online. Some defended the child's actions as mere fun, whereas others condemned it as wounding. “FHRITP in 2025 is crazy,” one user commented.

Another wrote, “Why is everyone so mad does no one remember the original?”

Others, however, called out the behavior. “Ah misogyny, still teaching our children it’s OK to be violent towards women. I’m so sorry this happened to you,” one user posted.

“This is literally what Adolescence is about and men in the comments still aren’t getting it,” another said.

One person described it as a “classic meme” and suggested the reporter should “get with the times.”

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