Horrified reporter calls out little boy who yelled 'one of the most alarming things' she's ever witnessed at her

A Canadian news reporter has been praised for her response to a young passerby yelling a sexually-suggestive remark in her direction.

CityNews Toronto anchor and weather specialist Michelle Mackey was filming a segment earlier this month when the gut-wrenching interaction occurred - footage of which has since gone viral online.

The televised feature was being filmed outside of the Canadian city's Rogers Centre, with Mackey standing outside of the stadium with a microphone in her hand.

The on-screen journalist began describing the scene around her, with another voice suddenly yelling at her from an off-camera location.

In the clip, Mackey can be seen briefly pausing to register the comments aimed at her. Her expression subsequently changed from surprise to pure fury, after she realised the remarks had been voiced by a little boy.

Mackey shared a video of the bizarre incident on TikTok on 7 April, racking up over 267,000 'likes' in the days since.

"This was one of the most alarming things I’ve witnessed as a news reporter," she captioned the post.

"What looked to be an 8 or 9-year-old boy yelled this at me, WITH HIS FATHER BY HIS SIDE. They proceeded to laugh and walk away."

"Out of respect for the child, I’m blurring their faces," she continued.

"Whether this is yelled at a man or woman, it perpetuates and normalizes misogyny. I thought this horrible trend was over."

Though the reporter also made the decision to 'bleep' the sexualised phrasing used by the child, she later told TODAY.com she recognised the vulgar language immediately from an internet meme.

According to a BBC report, it had previously been used in a string of videos whereby passers-by interrupt and harass female broadcasters, using the phrase 'f**k her right in the p***y'.

A man lost his job after he was identified in a viral video in which another man yelled the phrase at a different female news anchor.

"I haven’t heard [the phrase] in a really long time," Mackey told Today.

"I’ve heard it before, but it’s been years, and I was shocked to hear it again. When I looked over and saw [that the boy] said it, I was beyond disturbed. It looked to be an 8 or 9-year-old boy, and he was either with his dad or grandfather, and the two of them were just giggling.

"They were just laughing. They thought it was hilarious."

Mackey went on to reveal she'd attempted to call the boy and his father over afterwards for a conversation, but that they avoided her.

"I waved them back," she recalled. "I just wanted to be able to look that father and kid in the eye and say, 'Can you say that again to me, looking me in the eye as a human being?'.

"But they wouldn’t come back. They just laughed and gave me a thumbs up and kept on walking."

Raising awareness of the connotations of violence in the phrasing, she added: "It’s a very violating phrase, and you do feel violated in a way.

"And I was so angry after the shock kind of wore off."

The reporter has since received mass praise from spectators, as well as comfort from her family.

"My newsroom is like a family, and they have all rallied around me," she explained.

"I felt like it was important to take the risk and just share this and say, 'This is happening. Let’s nip it in the bud,' you know? Like, let’s stop it now."

Mackey added of the father: "I don’t fault the kid. Like, he’s so young. I really do fault the adult in this situation for not saying something."