Here's A Closer Look at Friday's Protest Against KGW

On Friday, Portlanders staged a protest in response to KGW's interview with Joel Magid.

In response to KGW anchor Chris Willis appearing to make light of sexual assault in an interview with musician Joel Magid (who confessed to sexually assaulting a woman on Facebook), Portlanders protested in Director Park, in Pioneer Courthouse Square, and outside KGW's main studio on Friday.

Related: "KGW Removes Interview With Joel Magid, the Portland Musician Who Confessed to Sexual Assault on Facebook."

The earlier protest was organized by Nick Riddle, an army veteran who says he was inspired to speak out because he knows people who have been sexually assaulted, and because he was enraged by KGW's attempt to resolve the issue with "a half-assed apology." A second protest was held later in the day by women in the Portland music community.

Related: "Two Protests Over KGW's Interview With Joel Magid Are Planned for Today."

Protesters were also incensed by Willis' attitude towards Erica Ordway, who has accused Magid of raping her in 2010. (WW does not normally identify victims of sexual assault but Ordway made a public statement on the subject.) During the interview, Willis asked if Ordway was a stripper, and appeared to use the question to dismiss her allegations against Magid.

"I'm part of the burlesque community," said a protester name whose stage name is Scarlet Siren. She says being a sexual assault survivor herself inspired her to get involved in the protest.

"Hearing about what's going on has made me very angry," she says. When she was assaulted "a lot of people turned their backs on me and tried to accuse of lying. They tried to accuse me of asking for it. They tried to accuse me of being a slut."

While many of the 61 people who promised to attend on the protest's Facebook page didn't show up, the protest succeeded in attracting the attention of KGW (the station sent a cameraman to film the protest).

"Keep your eyes open," Riddle says. "It doesn't end here."

UPDATE, 9/28/16, 9:38 am: Jeni Wren Stottrup, one of the organizers of the afternoon protest, says they are demanding an on-air apology from Willis, along with an "in-depth exploration of the impact of sexual assault" on survivors, but have yet to receive a response from KGW.

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