‘Hot’ Meteorologist Reminds Everyone That Looks Aren’t All That They Seem
A local weatherman has turned his “sexiest local news anchor” rating into a poignant lesson on bullying.
Adam Joseph, a meteorologist on Philadelphia’s WPVI-TV Action News, was recently rated No. 2 by the BuzzFeed Community in a ranking of the hottest TV anchors around the world. But the accomplished triathlete, father of two, and proudly out gay man — who also made the Out 100 list in 2015 and was recently rated the No. 3 meteorologist nationally on Share Rocket — seized the moment to get real rather than conceited, sharing a brutally honest Facebook post about “who I was a long time ago.”
“Being bullied….Been there,” was how he led into his long post on Wednesday, which has been shared more than 1,500 times and inspired more than 14,000 reactions. Joseph said he’d learned about his new status while working out at the gym, and, while it “makes a guy smile,” he thought, “It is only fair I let you know there is WAY more to me than this latest ranking.”
Back in middle and high school, he explained, “I was far from the popular kid. I was shy due to the fact I came from a broken home with divorce, alcoholism, seeing verbal/physical abuse, was poor, wore 2nd hand clothes, and other kids punished me for that.” Luckily, he said, he found “unconditional love” at home, which helped him get through each day, typically filled with fierce bullying.
“I cried many days not wanting to go to school knowing I was going to be teased, pushed around, and called names. I remember many days my heart beating so fast leaving school afraid to walk home,” Joseph shared, adding that a particularly relentless bully named John would wait for him behind bushes and then pop out to beat him up on a regular basis. He’d spend many days hiding in the nurse’s office, and remembers gym class as “a whole other level of pain.”
Some kids called him “Bubbles,” he recalled, “I think partly because I was far from a strong man and displayed such weakness. Bubbles are fragile and pop easy! For many years I couldn’t say that word and … even today when my son wants me to ‘blow bubbles’ I think of that name in high school.” During his whole time of being harassed, he added, “I was struggling with my sexuality, and let me tell you all of this combined almost broke me. There is only so much a teenager can take from all angles. I felt that life was SOOO against me and wondered what I did to deserve all of this.”
Joseph explained the reasoning behind his revealing post, noting, “I truly hope this helps someone who’s being bullied and more importantly if you are the one bullying it really scars a person and you are so much better than that.”
While statistics on the bullying of LGBTQ kids in school have improved somewhat since Joseph was a student, the most recent National School Climate Survey from GLSEN, which champions LGBTQ issues in K-12 education, shows a still-scary environment — with more than eight in 10 (85 percent) of such kids reporting that they’ve experienced verbal harassment and nearly two-thirds (66 percent) having experienced in-school discrimination based on sexual orientation. Because of feeling unsafe or uncomfortable, more than a third of LGBTQ students avoided bathrooms (39 percent) and locker rooms (38 percent) — an important point following the Trump administration’s recent reversal on bathroom protections for transgender students.
Reactions to Joseph’s post were very supportive, with commenters calling him “beautiful,” “a wonderful role model,” and “an inspiration.” One male reader shared the following encouraging words:
“Adam, I am a U.S. Marine veteran, who [is] trained to be tough, make tough decisions and deal with the emotional fallout when the smoke clears. You, my friend, are tougher than [I am]. Thank you for being part of the fabric of the region, for coming into my home to let me know tomorrow’s weather. For sharing your wonderful family with us. And thank you for sharing this part of your life. Your story will help people, both those bullied and who do the bullying. Peace.”
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