In episode thirteen of the show, UFC anchor Karyn Bryant joins Fernanda to talk about life behind the desk and in front of the camera. You can listen here or check out the embed below!
During the episode, Bryant got very real about how race, gender, and online harassment have impacted her career.
Fernanda asked: “Has there been a process involved in getting to the point where you can just sort of like, deal with everything that comes with being in such a public position?”
Bryant answered: “I would love to tell you that like, ‘Oh, I’m not bothered by trolls.’ Like, that would be the biggest lie on the planet. I don’t know.”
“I think part of it, I guess is, I’ve done this kind of thing for a long time. So I feel confident in my ability, right? I feel confident in my skillset. But that doesn’t mean I feel like I have job security or, you know, things that even some of the guys in this space might have. Because I am still a woman and I wasn’t a former fighter and I’d be lying if I didn’t say… every day I didn’t look and go, ‘it’s not a wrinkle!’ like ‘Oh, no!’ Is that you know, whatever, because unfortunately, we do get judged by that so much.
“Here’s the other thing. Fernanda, if you don’t remember, I also have chocolate skin. I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining because I’m not complaining. I’m just stating a fact, right. So stuff was harder.”
On the #WhatHadHappenedWas #podcast Ep 21 @AngieOverkill & I talk #UFCVegas29, possible match-ups for the winners, the pressure of picking fights on TV, awkward post-fight moments for female fighters out in public + more! Link in bio, also find us on Angie’s IGTV! #UFC #MMA #WMMA pic.twitter.com/Inqd5H2WMj
— Karyn Bryant (@KarynBryant) June 22, 2021
“And so I learned to have thicker skin earlier on. So certain things that people say to me still totally hurt, like way back when I was a kid. But certain things I’ve learned to just get past. So I don’t really know if there’s a whole… if there’s a specific process that was specific to me becoming insulated against MMA insults. I guess it might just be… insulated against insults in general.
“I guess the process, like I was saying before, if you just do it long enough, and those comments, you just don’t leave, right. You just keep doing it. And eventually they will either leave or they’ll come around and like you or maybe they won’t ever like you, but who cares, right?
“So I guess persistence is is the thing I would say, if you know you’re good or you want to do it, just keep freaking doing it.”
