CTV reporter speaks out after 'overwhelming amount of harassment' over on-air medical incident

A CTV Edmonton reporter has responded to "baseless theories" about her health after suffering a medical incident during a live broadcast.

Over the weekend, Jessica Robb was doing a live hit on the six o'clock news when she started having trouble speaking and responding to anchor Nahreman Issa.

"We will come back to you. Right now, we will make sure that Jessica is doing OK," Issa said before the feed ended, adding that Robb was not alone during the newscast.

On Tuesday afternoon, CTV released a statement from Robb, in which she says that "on Sunday night, a very personal and vulnerable moment unfolded as I [Robb] reported live on air. Since then, it has been shared thousands of times, along with baseless theories about the cause."

The reporter went on to thank everyone who has reached out to her since the incident, adding that the support has "been overwhelming" and she appreciates "every single" message.

On the other hand, the journalist revealed she's been the target of "an overwhelming amount of harassment and hatred, tied to false theories about the reason for the incident." Specifically, Robb has received comments from anti-vaxxers who believe she had an adverse reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine, which she's gotten three times.

She went on to explain that she will "not share private medical information publicly," but there is no cause for concern.

"I can, however, confirm that the situation was in no way related to the COVID-19 vaccine," Robb concluded.

On Twitter, people offered Robb their support and urged others to stop making claims about the cause of the incident.

"Scary stuff to see CTV Edmonton's Jessica Robb have a medical issue on air live...Stop trying to harass her...Neither you or I are doctors and it's none of our business," wrote a Twitter user.

"I’m very glad she’s OK, and sorry a personal medical situation is being weaponized. No reporter ever wants to be the story," shared someone else.

"It is a broadcaster's worst nightmare to have a health scare on air. We’ve been on air not feeling great, overworked or just sick. Prayers for Jessica Robb who now not only has to recover, she has to do it with idiots pushing false narratives," penned another broadcaster.

This isn't the first time that a news reporter has experienced scary health symptoms on air.

In September, Oklahoma anchor Julie Chin suffered the "beginnings of a stroke" on live television.

The KJRH Tulsa weekend reporter began to stumble over her words while reading a teleprompter about NASA's recently postponed mission to the moon.

After struggling to speak, Chin told viewers, "I’m sorry, something is going on with me this morning," before passing her segment to the station's meteorologist. The anchor's colleagues immediately called an ambulance after recognizing that something was wrong with her.

"I'm so glad to tell you I'm OK," Chin posted on Facebook a day after the event. "The past few days are still a little bit of a mystery, but my doctors believe I had the beginnings of a stroke live on the air Saturday morning. Some of you witnessed it firsthand, and I'm so sorry that happened."

After spending a few days in the hospital surrounded by medical professionals, Chin began to feel better and urged others to educate themselves on the warning signs of stroke.

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