How NTV’s Olive Burrows was chased away from top media house for being fat (Video)
It is one thing to get cyberbullied for your body size but it is another to be called out for about the same reason by a prospective employer. We all have a story of the fall before the rise, a step that was necessary to get us to the top.
Stories not all so pleasant to talk about but ones that we live to tell. NTV’s sassy news anchor, Olive Burrows has told her story, back when she was tarmacking for a job only to get turned away because she was chunky.
Having been known for her time at Capital FM, it turns out that the position never came on a silver platter. Recalling her first application to the Chris Kirubi-owned media conglomerate, Burrows got called upon by the tycoon for a meeting.
Also read: 6 female Kenya celebrity journalists born of mixed descent
The ugly turn down
Kirubi told Olive to her face that he doesn’t like hiring fat people and that was as good as it. Only for 2 years later, to receive a call from the organization’s Editorial Director offering her an opportunity.
“I had applied for a job with Capital FM like two years earlier. I had even met Kirubi and then he said he doesn’t like hiring fat people. Then I thought that was done but then Michael Mumo who was the Editorial Director at the time, game me a call two years later,” recalled Olive Burrows during her interview with Nairobi News.
Turns out that Kirubi’s PA, had held onto Burrows’ CV despite the turn down and when an opportunity arose, she was the first person to click her mind.
“He told me “I have an opening, are you interested?” Kirubi’s PA never forgot me. I think she felt for me so she told Mumo there’s this lady we have her CV. He was at the time looking for someone to blog for him,” she continued.
Just like that, Burrows worked for Capital FM for a good 6 years where she reached her peak after interviewing former US president Barack Obama during his recent visit to Kenya before getting poached by NTV for her current role. Listen in;