They're calling it #sweatergate. Los Angeles meteorologist Liberte Chan was asked to cover up during a live weather report on Saturday, May 14, and it caused a storm of controversy on social media, but the KTLA reporter assured fans that she wasn't offended. 
 
 Chan was wearing a sequin Aidan Mattox black dress during her weather report on Saturday morning when news anchor Chris Burrous handed her a gray cardigan. "We're getting emails," he explained. 
 
 Courtesy Facebook 
 
 "What's going on? Why? Because it's cold?" she replied as she donned the sweater, complaining, "I look like a librarian now." 
 
 
 
 Several people took to Twitter claiming that Chan (who had changed out of a previous outfit because of trouble with the green screen that morning) had been publicly embarrassed and body-shamed. One commenter insisted it was a case of double standards, sharing a screen grab of a 2012 KTLA weather forecast that featured a male meteorologist with two models wearing skimpy lingerie. 
 
 
 
 Burrous apologized on Twitter, explaining that he offered up the sweater "in jest but I see how it seemed. I am sorry." 
 
 
 
 @crowsight @hoseph_ @KTLA I completely understand meant in jest but I see how it seemed. I am sorry. I hope you will give me another chance — Chris Burrous (@chrisburrous) May 15, 2016 
 
 KTLA has no comment, but Chan addressed the awkward moment with fans on Facebook Live on Sunday, May 15, admitting, "It became this big thing." 
 
 
 
 "I really wasn't offended," she said. "People are kind of spinning it and saying that it was sexist.… I thought it was kind of funny. I think we just played into the viewers saying, you know, you should cover up, so he brought me over a sweater. But not offended, I don't think it was sexist, but that's just my opinion." 
 
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 Dress codes and sexism are two hot topics that have been heavily debated over the years. Whether in the school yard or at your local tech firm, women are scrutinized the most on what is considered appropriate to wear. There have been rules about not wearing sleeveless dresses to the office or avoiding skirts that are two inches above the knee, just to name a few. 
 
 But what if your job provides more leeway and freedom of expression in your wardrobe — do these so-called rules still apply? 
 
 Viewers of KTLA, a Tribune Broadcasting station in Los Angeles, seem to think so. 
 
 Liberté Chan is a weather reporter for KTLA News, and on Saturday she was handed a sweater and asked to cover up in the middle of her broadcast. 
 
 When Chan asked why, a voice off-camera simply replied,"We're getting emails." 
 
 Not to cause a big commotion, Chan put on the oversized sweater and added a little banter to lighten the mood: "I look like a librarian now." 
 
 After the broadcast was complete, Chan posted a video of the incident to her Facebook page and asked her followers if the dress was too revealing. The majority of the responses to Chan's post were supportive of the reporter and her black dress; others believed the station was correct in providing a sweater. 
 
 "Your dress was fine and the shaming forced on you was simply cruel and uncalled for," said Facebook user Morgan Sheridan. 
 
 Prior to the broadcast Chan posted a video of herself in the dress, expressing how excited she was to wear it. ||||| Personal Thoughts on the LBD/Sweater Moment that Went Viral 
 
 After receiving a number of requests for interviews regarding my LBD/Sweater moment on the KTLA Morning News this weekend, I thought I would share a few personal thoughts. 
 
 For those who missed what happened Saturday, March 14th, I was wearing a black, beaded sparkly dress and apparently, the station received a slew of negative emails from viewers saying the dress was inappropriate for air. 
 
 I’ve worked on-air for 10 years and by now, I’ve learned that everyone has an opinion and you have to have a thick skin to work in this business. It’s a visual medium and sometimes your outfit works and sometimes it doesn’t. 
 
 During the 8am hour, my co-anchor came over and handed me a sweater and said, “we’re getting a lot of emails.” I was surprised since I hadn’t seen any of the emails and didn’t think there was anything that inappropriate (the beads/sequins were probably a little much for the morning, but what girl doesn’t like something that sparkles?!), so I played along and put on the sweater. 
 
 That prompted a barrage of tweets and more emails from viewers, some of which I included below. 
 
 To be perfectly honest, the black beaded dress was a backup. The pattern on my original black and white dress didn’t work on the weather wall (for some reason, it turned semi-transparent), so after my first weather hit at 6am, I changed. 
 
 For the record, I was not ordered by KTLA to put on the sweater. I was simply playing along with my co-anchor’s joke, and if you’ve ever watched the morning show, you know we poke fun at each other all the time. 
 
 And, also for the record, there is no controversy at KTLA. My bosses did not order me to put on the cardigan, it was a spontaneous moment.. I truly love my job, I like my bosses and enjoy working with my coworkers. Since talking to my team, I want our viewers to know it was never our intention to offend anyone. We are friends on and off the air and if you watch our newscast, you know that. 
 
 More importantly, I hope my viewers were able to plan their Saturday once they heard my forecast and enjoyed the sunny weather after the clouds cleared. 
 
 The original dress that didn’t work on-air because it was semi see-through 
 
 A few articles online: 
 
 Variety 
 
 Esquire 
 
 Mashable 
 
 Daily Mail 
 
 Yahoo News .Mic 
 
 A few tweets from followers… thanks for the support! 
 
 Comments
– Liberte Chan was excited about the outfit she chose for her Saturday weather report on KTLA. "Even if it's early in the AM, can't beat a black beaded dress," she tweeted shortly before she went on air at the Los Angeles TV station, showing off her sequined dress, per Us Weekly. But her enthusiasm was short-lived: Soon after she started the live weather report, a hand appeared from off-camera holding a gray cardigan sweater. "What's going on? Why? Because it's cold?" she asked, to which anchor Chris Burrous replied: "We're getting emails." Chan smiled and put on the sweater, lamenting, "I look like a librarian now." Online reaction was swift, with commenters debating whether it was sexist and inappropriate to call out Chan on the air, even if her attire hadn't been typical newscaster garb, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Chan reposted the video herself on her Facebook page later that morning, first apologizing to librarians for her librarian comment, then asking viewers for their take on what Us refers to as "#sweatergate." Some said she may have been dressed too casually for work but that the sweater handoff wasn't necessary. "The morning [newscasters] on this channel have made raunchy innuendos numerous times that I can recall and there's been news stories shown with women wearing less but this dress is a problem?" one wrote. Burrous offered his own apology, tweeting, "Meant in jest but I see how it seemed. I am sorry." Chan tweeted a link Sunday night to her blog, where she expounded on the incident. She explained the dress had been a backup (the first one she had on didn't work with the studio's greenscreen) and that she was never ordered to put on the sweater. "I was simply playing along with my co-anchor's joke, and if you've ever watched the morning show, you know we poke fun at each other all the time," she writes. (This worker was sent home for not wearing high heels.)