'What a condescending thing to say to a kid who's just accomplished something noteworthy,' one user told the anchor
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Social media users tore into a Sky News anchor this week after she made a dismissive comment to a 13-year-old gamer in her report on him being the first ever person to beat Nintendo’s version of "Tetris."
After reporting on Willis Gibson reaching the highest level of anyone who has ever played the game, crashing its coding, Jayne Secker took a moment in her Sky News broadcast to tell the young man to "get some fresh air."
"As a mother I would just say step away from the screen, go outside, get some fresh air. Beating Tetris is not a life goal," she said with a smile on her face.
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A Sky News anchor took heat after lecturing the first person who ever beat Nintendo's version of Tetris to "get some fresh air." (Willis Gibson via AP)
The comment angered users online who found it condescending and dismissive of the young Oklahoman’s achievement – the first of its kind since the video game was released on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985 and something many longtime Tetris fans have considered impossible.
The account for a Nintendo fan community in the U.K., "Nintendo South Wales," came to Gibson’s defense, stating, "Sky News's Jayne Secker breaks script to tell 13yo who reached a WR Lvl. 157 in NES #Tetris… This priggish, ignorant belittlement of Willis Gibson's achievement shows gaming stigma is sadly alive & well."
YouTuber "Cynical Reviews" blasted Secker, posting to X, "What a condescending thing to say to a kid who's just accomplished something noteworthy. Utterly pathetic."
🎮📰Sky News's Jayne Secker breaks script to tell 13yo who reached a WR Lvl. 157 in NES #Tetris
— Nintendo South Wales (@Nintendo_SW) January 4, 2024
"Beating Tetris is not a life goal. Go outside and get some fresh air"
This priggish, ignorant belittlement of Willis Gibson's achievement shows gaming stigma is sadly alive & well pic.twitter.com/KRix9g6A32
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Social media users found the criticism of the Oklahoman teenager, and his accomplishment, to be dismissive. (Getty Images)
X user "Optimus" grilled the Sky News anchor, posting, "The 50-year old news anchor who probably spends 11 hours a day scrolling Facebook Reels and Pinterest seems really bitter a 13-year old did something nobody could do in like half a century of the game existing."
What a condescending thing to say to a kid who's just accomplished something noteworthy.
— Cynical Reviews (@Cynical_CJ) January 5, 2024
Utterly pathetic. https://t.co/z6eBy2IuLI
Popular Twitch streamer and content creator "Punz" ripped Secker, writing, "I hate people like this lady, this kid did something that no one has ever done before. An insane accomplishment."
More people have heard about Blue Scuti than this British loser lol
— John Willow (@JohnathonWillow) January 4, 2024
Gabriel Hays is an associate editor for Fox News Digital.
