Woman speaks out after being body-shamed over freezing water rescue video

A woman has defended herself from body-shamers after a video of her being rescued by police from an ice-covered lake went viral.

On 27 January, Korisa Miller, from Warren, Michigan, was ice-fishing with her best friend Melissa Kozlowski on Lake St Clair when she slipped and fell into the freezing water.

According to Miller, the 36-degree water she’d fallen into was 12-feet deep and it took just a “matter of seconds for me to be completely submerged.''

“I had to hang on to stay alive,” she told the Free Press.

After hearing the friends screaming for help, two nearby fishermen arrived and tried to remove Miller from the ice to no avail, as her hoodie and heavy jacket kept getting in the way.

“Every time they pulled up, I was getting choked on top of already hyperventilating and freaking out,” Miller said, explaining that they eventually removed the garments so they wouldn’t choke her.

Fortunately, the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office arrived shortly after and removed Miller from the water.

The police rescue, which showed Miller being pulled out of the water in just a sports bra and tights, was then uploaded to the sheriff’s Facebook page as a reminder of the dangers of being near freezing water.

However, shortly after sharing the video, viewers began commenting on Miller’s weight and her attire at the time of the rescue.

Rather than ignore the comments, Miller decided to use the comments section to share her side of the story and remind people how harmful body-shaming can be.

“Hello I am the woman who fell in the water, I have read all the comments,” Miller wrote. “Some of you should be ashamed of what you are saying about me.”

Miller then addressed the criticisms she’d received, explaining that she knows “better than go on the ice when it is not fully frozen over” and that she “did have clothes on”.

“When they tried pulling me up, my hoodie and coat were choking me so they had to rip it off of me,” she continued. “I did not go fishing in a tank top.

“I was fishing on the dock and when I turned around I slipped. My knee bashed the dock and I hit the ice. It took only a few seconds for the ice to give in because as all of you have been saying I am a thick woman.”

Miller then described how it only took about two minutes until her legs went numb from the cold, which made it more difficult to remove her from the water.

“They tried so hard to get me up,” she said. “Unfortunately due to the fact I couldn’t feel my legs they kept hitting the dock.”

Miller concluded the post explaining that the moment captured on camera was after she had started to fall asleep but knew the police were going to ensure she was going to be okay, before adding the hashtag #Korisabodypositivity.

In response to her post, which has since been liked more than 200 times, Miller has received an outpouring of support for her strength and for standing up for herself.

“I don’t know you, but so glad you are here today,” one person wrote. “That had to have been the scariest, and most challenging thing ever! You are so strong and brave.”

Another said: “So glad you’re okay… and that’s the ONLY thing that matters.”

The sheriff’s office also shared its support for Miller, writing: “It doesn’t matter what or how you do it, there is always going to be someone with a really ignorant comment. Know that by sharing your story, you are helping educate the public and most likely can save someone else from going through what you did.

“Stay strong, we think you’re a beautiful and brave woman.”

As for what she hopes people will take from the video, Miller told the Free Press that she wants it to “raise awareness [about] how dangerous ice-fishing can be”.

“I am glad I am alive and [can] share my story,” she said.

According to the sheriff’s office, if you do fall into cold water, the first thing you should do is try not to panic. You can find more tips here.