The interruption of Monday night's episode of "The Bachelorette" on Fox 45, which covers Dayton, Ohio, and nearby communities in the Miami Valley, for a severe weather update sparked a heated backlash from many disgruntled TV viewers. The severe weather interruption brought to viewers by Jamie Simpson, Fox 45's Emmy-winning meteorologist, was meant to warn the Dayton area of an imminent tornado threat to the community. Indeed, within hours, the region was hit by a series of destructive tornadoes.
"If a tornado doesn’t hit tonight I’m gonna be very angry, thanks for ruining my bachelorette time," a Twitter user said on Monday.Another user tweeted, "I get it there is a tornado warning ... but I’m trying to watch the bachelorette."
"It does not take 45 minutes to say there is a tornado. Just let me watch the bachelorette," another Twitter user complained.
These tweets just scratch the surface of the backlash that Simpson faced for breaking into the show to warn the public about a possible tornado outbreak.
But Simpson did not take the hail of criticism from "Bachelorette" fans sitting down.
“Viewers are complaining already, ‘Just go back to the show.’ No. We’re not going back to the show, folks," Simpson declared on live television. "This is a dangerous situation, OK? Think about if it was your neighborhood. I’m sick and tired of people complaining about this. Our job here is to keep people safe and that’s what we’re going to do. Some people complaining that it’s all about my ego -- stop. Just stop right now. It’s not. I’m done with you people! I really am. This is pathetic."
Simpson then apologized for his rant but reiterated his point about the importance of informing the public of weather threats.
“Alright. I’m sorry, I did that,” he said. “It just really bothers me that we have people that don’t care about other people’s safety around here. That’s just ridiculous.”
One social media user, who shared Simpson's rant in a Twitter video, said she felt "personally attacked by Jamie Simpson."
The current "Bachelorette," Hannah Brown, tweeted her support for the weather interruption: "Lolz too funny, thanks Dayton, Ohio, for the love, but be safe. naders are no joke."
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Multiple tornadoes tore across the midwestern United States on Monday, leaving a trail of destruction. Dayton was among those cities hit the hardest. Photos and reports on Monday morning, after the storms moved out, showed the extent of the storm damage in the area.
As the storms rolled over the central U.S, local officials warned many residents to take shelter on Memorial Day, likely impacting holiday festivities. In Dayton, there were minimal injuries and no fatalities reported there as of Monday, something the city's fire chief, Jeffrey Payne, said was a result of effective warnings.
"I find that pretty miraculous," Payne told reporters, "and I attribute much of that to the early notification to the public, and then the public heeding those warnings and getting shelter.
It's not just "Bachelorette" devotees who don't want their plans derailed by tornado warnings.
U.S. Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren found herself caught in a tornado warning, reported Ali Vitali of NBC News, while making a campaign stop in Iowa. Warren initially ignored the warning and had continued speaking with voters in Burlington, even as tornado warning sirens blared in the background, video posted on Twitter showed.
Warren and her then staff waited out the tornado warning for 25 minutes along with members of the press. Vitali said on Twitter that Warren "regaled us" with "stories of tornado lore that she heard about growing up in Oklahoma, as well as other weather-related tales."
Residents and volunteers help clear debris from damaged homes resulting from a tornado storm system that passed through the region the previous evening, Tuesday, May 28, 2019, in Brookville, Ohio. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Simpson, the Fox 45 broadcaster, is far from the first TV meteorologist to be bombarded with a backlash for interrupting regularly-scheduled programming.
In April, TV Meteorologist Ella Dorsey came on the air for about 10-12 minutes to share information about a tornado warning in Gwinnett County. She interrupted the 2019 Masters golf tournament for the update and subsequently faced a brutal response -- even death threats -- as a result.
Dorsey also responded to the criticism, stressing the importance of severe weather updates during dangerous weather outbreaks.
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