After an award-winning Arkansas television reporter received a mean-spirited email from a viewer blasting him for his "gayness," he decided to respond in a thoughtful, but impassioned, way on Twitter.
Mitchell McCoy, who works for KARK-TV in Little Rock, shared a screenshot of the email, which called him a "disgrace to Arkansas." He did not disclose the author's name.
"I get many emails, but this tops it," McCoy tweeted with the image. "I've dreamt of being a reporter since I was nine, and I won't stop on your behalf."
McCoy, however, didn't stop there. He continued:
McCoy, who has received awards from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters and the Michigan Army National Guard over the course of his career, told The Huffington Post that he was "overwhelmed by the support" he's received from locals and others around the world since posting the tweets.
A number of media professionials, including Andy Towle of the popular LGBT news site, Towleroad, backed McCoy on Twitter.
In an email to Arkansas Online, KARK news director Austin Kellerman called McCoy a "great journalist," and shrugged off the viewer's remarks.
"As public figures, our journalists often receive messages from viewers — some good, some bad," he wrote. "It's part of our profession."
Meanwhile, McCoy told HuffPost that he hopes others who may be enduring homophobia themselves will be inspired by his actions.
"For anyone going through a rough patch in life, remember there is always light at the end of the tunnel," he said. "Trust me, I've been there."
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