*ESPN told reporter Britt McHenry to have a seat – hours after a video surfaced of her cursing at and belittling a tow lot employee in Virginia.
“I’m in the news, sweetheart, I will f**king sue this place,” McHenry said on the video released by LiveLeak.
McHenry, formerly of DC’s ABC7, went on to make fun of the attendant’s appearance and education.
“That’s why I have a degree and you don’t,” she said. She then accused the attendant of having “no education” or “skill set.”
“Do you feel good about your job?” McHenry asked the clerk. “So I could be a college dropout and do the same thing? Why, ’cause I have a brain and you don’t?”
Her parting words: “Lose some weight baby girl.”
The confrontation took place after McHenry’s car was towed by Advanced Towing in Arlington, Virginia, on Apr. 6.
Watch below:
McHenry took to Twitter to apologize late Thursday.
“In an intense and stressful moment, I allowed my emotions to get the best of me and said some insulting and regrettable things,” she wrote. “As frustrated as I was, I should always choose to be respectful and take the high road. I am so sorry for my actions and will learn from this mistake.”
In an intense and stressful moment, I allowed my emotions to get the best of me and said some insulting and (cont) https://t.co/Wx37XF2QtM
— Britt McHenry (@BrittMcHenry) April 16, 2015
Too little, too late. The one-week suspension goes into effect immediately, ESPN said.
TMZ Sports spoke with the manager of Advanced Towing who says … “It’s unfortunate that [our employee] had to withstand that.”
“It wasn’t [our employee’s fault] that Britt’s car was towed. It’s her own fault. She was in the wrong. That’s why she was towed.”
“Now people can see what really happened. Sometimes you have to own up to your own actions.”
As for the employee, the manager says — “She’s the kind of person we try to employ here. She handled this the right way. She kept her cool the whole time.”