Lesley Chesterman's tweet about sexual harassment cooks up controversy
“Deal with it or get out,” Montreal dining critic tweeted about sexual harassment in restaurant kitchens
Montreal Gazette food critic Lesley Chesterman was caught in a Twitter storm after she tweeted about sexual harassment in restaurant kitchens.
"The problem is when you put out your opinion in 140 word characters — I've seen all of my words twisted," Chesterman told CBC Radio One's Homerun host Sue Smith.
On Wednesday CBC Radio One's The Current talked about sexual harassment in restaurant kitchens.
Toronto chef Kate Burnham alleged she was inappropriately touched and routinely harassed by colleagues at the restaurant Weslodge.
Responding to a conversation on Twitter, Lesley Chesterman wrote a series of tweets — one in particular which created a Twitter storm.
.<a href="https://twitter.com/jensfuel">@jensfuel</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/cnutsmith">@cnutsmith</a> I was sexually harassed when I was a chef when I was 19 and 23. You either deal with it or you get out. 2/5
—@lesleychestrmanPeople on Twitter were quick to respond to Chesterman's tweet.
. <a href="https://twitter.com/lesleychestrman">@lesleychestrman</a> re: this matter. It reads as victim blaming.
—@TheBlackHoof"People think I'm not sympathetic. I'm actually extraordinarily sympathetic because this has happened to me," Chesterman told CBC.
"If I was her mother, or if I was her cooking teacher...I would have told her to get out. Now what I mean by get out -- some people are saying now I'm victim-shaming and all this -- I don't mean that at all.
"What I mean is you go and see your boss. [Burnham] did complain to management over and over and they seemed to turn a blind eye to it. So after you go to management, if this behaviour continues, you can go to the police, and then you're going to have to go back into that kitchen if you want to … But i think ultimately it would have been a good idea to complain, then go to the police, but also to get out of that kind of toxic atmosphere.
"I lived it for eight months in one case, and one incident when I was 19 years old -- which was awful. I couldn't even work near those people...Two years of her life were spent in a kitchen with these goons treating her badly.
"We all have our own experiences and in my experience, I had to get away from these people. I think this girl should only walk out to make her life better and walk out with her head high," Chesterman said.
Listen to the full interview here:
