Man who groped reporter on live TV: ‘There was a misjudge in character and decision-making’

The runner accused of groping a reporter on live TV spoke out in a new interview, denying that he purposefully slapped the woman’s behind while she was on camera. 

“I was caught up in the moment,” Tommy Callaway told Inside Edition in an interview released Tuesday. “I was getting ready to bring my hands up and wave to the camera to the audience, there was a misjudge in character and decisionmaking. I touched her back; I did not know exactly where I touched her.” 

A video of Callaway slapping WSAV reporter Alex Bozarjian’s butt while she was covering a run in Savannah, Ga., went viral over the weekend.

In a Saturday tweet, Bozarjian shared “To the man who smacked my butt on live TV this morning: You violated, objectified, and embarrassed me. No woman should EVER have to put up with this at work or anywhere!! Do better.”  

To the man who smacked my butt on live TV this morning: You violated, objectified, and embarrassed me. No woman should EVER have to put up with this at work or anywhere!! Do better. https://t.co/PRLXkBY5hn

— Alex Bozarjian (@wsavalexb) December 7, 2019

When asked to respond to the reporter, Callaway said “I totally agree 100 percent with her statement and the two most important words were her last two words, ‘do better.’ And that’s my intention,” he said.

Callaway is a 43-year-old father of two who also serves as a church youth minister and Boy Scout leader, according to Inside Edition. He said that he “did not see” Bozarjian’s facial reaction” after he hit her, and if he had “I would have felt embarrassed and ashamed and stopped and turned around to apologize to her.”

In an interview with “CBS This Morning” Tuesday, Bozarjian said Callaway first tried to reach out through the station.

“He did try to make contact with our station … and kind of was saying that his intentions were not to hurt me — he didn’t intend to do it, which [I’m] not going to really debate that because he did hurt me,” the reporter said.

Joseph Turner, an attorney for the runner said in a statement obtained by The Hill that his client “did not act with any criminal intentions. Tommy is a loving husband and father. … We do not expect any criminal charges, and we are working with those involved to correct the situation.”