Meteorologist told to cover up on air; #sweatergate goes viral

Liberte Chan said she "looked like a librarian" when she donned the sweater.

METEOROLOGIST Liberte' Chan caused a small stir when she did the weather report in a sleeveless black dress; so much so that the morning newscaster on the Los Angeles television, KTLA, offered her a sweater to cover up her bare shoulders.

The response to that gesture caused an even bigger stir as the scene went viral with the social networkers taking sides - pro and con - most of which defended her.

Chan felt the need to issue an explanation today (May 16) to her legions of fans who rushed to her defense calling the station hypocritical, or calling the on-air act an example of "shaming" or "pandering."

"For the record, I was not ordered by KTLA to put on the sweater. I was simply playing along with my co-anchor’s joke, and if you’ve ever watched the morning show, you know we poke fun at each other all the time.

"And, also for the record, there is no controversy at KTLA. My bosses did not order me to put on the cardigan, it was a spontaneous moment.. I truly love my job, I like my bosses and enjoy working with my coworkers. Since talking to my team, I want our viewers to know it was never our intention to offend anyone. We are friends on and off the air and if you watch our newscast, you know that."

Watch the whole thing here:

The whole incident was apparently meant as a joke by the morning newscaster Chris Burrous, who put upon himself to act as the fasihon police. The station never asked her to put on the sweater.

Burrous later apologized for the sweater stunt, saying it was “meant in jest.” Chan accepted his apology.

In her statement, she also issued an apology to librarians. When she put on the sweater, she said, "I look like a librarian." She didn't mean that as a slur towards that profession.

According to her bio, the L.A.-born Chan earned her certificate in meteorology from Mississippi State University in August, 2015. She also has a master’s degree in Public Health from USC’s Keck School of Medicine, plus a certification in broadcast journalism from UCLA and a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from University of Massachusetts Amherst. She graduated early from college, spending her last semester studying abroad at the Sorbonne in Paris.

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