‘Mean Girl’ Britt McHenry Back At ESPN, And Her Infamy Could Make Her Bigger Than Ever

Everyone’s favorite foul-mouthed blond, Britt McHenry, is coming back to ESPN this weekend, but her boss has preempted angry reactions by reassuring her “first assignments out of the box will not be easy.”

In case you haven’t seen the video that made Britt a household name (even among people who couldn’t tell the difference between a football and a badminton shuttle) the ESPN reporter berated a tow truck employee, insulting her weight, dental hygiene, job and education — among other things. The video of McHenry’s obscenity-laced tirade went viral.

Her behavior earned Britt a one-week suspension. And despite all that, network producer Seth Markman said he still believes in McHenry, according to New Jersey.com.

“Listen, it wouldn’t shock me if some people react negatively. My head hasn’t been buried in the sand. I’ve read a lot on this, and more than anything, she knows she made a mistake. She’s owned up to it. I think she is just really anxious to get back to work. She realizes she will have to do her job really well and hopefully win back some of the trust of our viewers … But she knows the first couple of assignments out of the box will not be easy.”

Evidently, Britt’s assignment plate will be full: she’ll appear on SportsCenter, and get her old spot back covering the upcoming NFL season, starting with next week’s coverage of the NFL draft opening round, the NY Post reported.

Though many will no doubt be a bit ticked that McHenry is getting her old job back, there are some who believe her caught-on-camera tirade will actually help, not hurt, her career. And ESPN may be thinking the same thing.

After all, as the Post puts it, Britt McHenry was once “an indistinguishable face in the ESPN talent horde,” but is now a “pariah synonymous with pettiness and entitlement.”

Alex Flannigan, over at NFL Network, said that McHenry’ s popularity will actually soar because TV networks like ESPN want talent people notice. And these days, they don’t care what their talent does to make that happen. McHenry, apparently, included.

Everyone has been talking about Britt and her spat with the tow truck employee since it went viral, meaning her face and her name is more well-known now than it was before. Which is a shame, as Flannigan put it, because many women who deserve the attention McHenry will now get will slip between the cracks without a “bad girl scandal.”

But perhaps the “mean girl” will learn a lesson out of all this mess, she said.

“My ‘mother of two daughters voice’ hopes she’ll learn that while she was hired, maybe in part, because she’s in shape, has nice teeth and is well educated, those things don’t make her a better person…neither does having a job on TV.”

So what do you think? Should Britt McHenry get a second chance? Can you forgive and forget?

[Photo Courtesy YouTube Screengrab]