14 DAY TRIAL // Until just the other day, Shea Allen used to work for Huntsville, Alabama-based ABC affiliate WAAY-TV. When one of her bosses stumbled upon her personal blog and read some of the confessions there, she was fired.
Allen’s case is now getting worldwide media attention for her claim that, in writing those things on her blog and refusing to take them down, she stands for the freedom of speech and integrity.
Among the “confessions” that got her bosses all hot under the collar is the admission that she doesn’t like old people and refuses to report from the places they reside, that she went braless once for a report and no one realized it, that she switches off the recorder if she thinks the person she’s interviewing is not interesting enough.
Perhaps the worst confession on the list is that, “I've stolen mail and then put it back. (maybe)”
Shortly after the blog post went online, Allen deleted it.
She had a change of heart hours later and re-posted it, with a message to her former employers saying she would not be pressured to be quiet.
“This post was taken down because I was momentarily misguided about who I am and what I stand for. To clarify, I make no apologies for the following re-post. It’s funny, satirical and will likely offend some of the more conservative folks. But it isn’t fake and its a genuine look into my slightly twisted psyche,” she says.
“Here’s the thing, I’ve vowed to always fight for the right of free expression. It’s allowed, no matter what the profession. I pride myself in having earned the respect of many because I make no apologies for the truth and hold nothing back,” Allen argues.
“I don’t fight for things because they serve me, I fight for them because they are right. Sources trust me because I am an unadulterated version of the truth. I won’t ever bend just because its popular to do so and I’m not bending now,” she continues.
She refuses to address commenters saying she’s being unprofessional by lying to those she’s interviewing, or those informing her that stealing mail is a federal crime, punishable as such.
Instead, she maintains that she was fired without justification or cause because, as she sees it, her blog is personal and doesn’t reflect on the network in any way.
The ABC affiliate was not available for comment at the time Allen’s “confessions” went viral.