text: For a self-professed champion of women's rights, ESPN sports reporter Britt McHenry has a funny way of showing it. The 28-year-old has been suspended from the network for a week after being caught on camera telling a parking lot attendant she should 'lose some weight, baby girl', adding 'I'm on television and you're in a f---ing trailer, honey'. But according to her blog, the former model is dedicated to helping women feel 'comfortable in their own skin'. In a self-aggrandizing rant, McHenry tells her readers she is 'taking a stand' against 'sexist'  commercials that focus on 'appearance alone'. It is an almost unrecognizable tone from the one she took on April 6, when she raged at towing company clerk Gina Michelle: 'Just being here makes my skin crawl... Maybe if I was missing some teeth they would hire me, huh?' SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Women's rights champion? Britt McHenry encourages her blog readers to 'be the woman with a voice, not the sex-ed up body without one'. She said she  posted this selfie as an example of female empowerment . Pious: Just eight days before her outburst, McHenry lectured her Facebook followers on the impact of words . Vicious: ESPN sports reporter Britt McHenry has been suspended for one week and could face further punishment after video surfaced of her berating an Advanced Towing employee in Arlington, Virginia . Glamorous: Originally from New Jersey, McHenry is a sideline reporter for ESPN based in Washington D.C. Pictured is Gina Michelle, the clerk abused by McHenry and told she needed to lose some weight . McHenry uses her blog post to lament the pressure put on women to appear a certain way. She describes a cheeseburger advert that features an almost naked woman, writing: 'When so many females fight for gender equality in pay and opportunity–still to this day in 2015–an advertisement like that only sets women back generations.' 'Women,' she pontificates, 'can be comfortable in their own skin... Be the woman with a voice, not the sex-ed up body without one.' Regaling her own life story, McHenry tells readers: 'Even at 18, and yes as a model once, I never fathomed resting on appearance alone. 'In a pre-Instagram era, I was more worried about putting my nose in a book rather than flaunting it (and other female assets) in a portfolio book. 'If a Champion Sportswear ad helped pay for my student loans, great. But, I wanted to be an attractive AND intelligent woman.' She closes with a rallying cry against the cheeseburger ad that inspired her diatribe: 'Put the burger down during the big game's party and pick up some chips and salsa. It will be my silent act of solidarity.' It seems her activism waned as she came face-to-face with mother-of-three Gina Michelle at the Advanced Towing Company after her car was removed from the parking lot of a Chinese restaurant in Arlington, Virginia. The verbal attack on April 6 was captured on a security camera as she paid to pick the vehicle up at the tow lot office. 'I’m in the news, sweetheart, I will f-----g sue this place,' McHenry can he heard saying in the video. The parking attendant can be heard in the video warning McHenry she is being filmed and threatens to 'play your video'. McHenry seems unfussed, responding: 'That’s why I have a degree and you don't - I wouldn't work in a scumbag place like this. 'Makes my skin crawl even being here.' The parking attendant patiently replies: 'Well lets get you out of here quickly.' McHenry then fires back: 'Yep, that's all you care about - taking people's money… with no education, no skill set. Just wanted to clarify that.' After a few more comments, including telling the woman she doesn't have a brain, McHenry delivers her biggest sting. 'Maybe if I was missing some teeth they would hire me, huh?' she says. 'Cos I'm on television and you're in a f-----g trailer, honey.' Finally, before walking away, McHenry says: 'Lose some weight, baby girl.' Caught red-faced: Incredibly, McHenry was warned that she was being filmed at the start of her ugly rant, however continued to insult the woman's looks, education and job on-camera . Unhappy customer: Britt McHenry leaving the towing company and flipping a finger to the cameras . She's outta there: ESPN immediately responded by suspending McHenry, but only for one week . The towing company told TMZ 'she was in the wrong' but insists there are no hard feelings towards McHenry. In a statement emailed to DailyMail.com, a spokesman said: 'Parking enforcement is contentious by nature. 'At the same time, neither Gina, our lot clerk, nor our company, have any interest in seeing Britt McHenry suspended or terminated as a result of her comments. 'Ms McHenry is our neighbor, and, as she said, to paraphrase, made remarks that were out of line. She is human and errors in judgement can be made in the heat of the moment. 'Gina is a single mother of 3 children who works a difficult job to provide her family. Gina holds no ill will toward Ms McHenry. 'As a small business, we saw no benefit to releasing the video, except to highlight personal attacks employees in jobs like towing, public parking enforcement and others sometimes encounter. The video was not licensed or sold to anyone.' There is now a petition to have McHenry fired from her role in Washington, D.C., slamming the sportscaster as 'derogatory, classist and body-shaming.' The Change.org petition reads: 'Currently McHenry is serving a mere 1-week suspension for her outburst. 'By retaining Britt McHenry as a prominent public figure of Sports Media, ESPN Inc. and other networks effectively send a loud public message condoning this type of cruel behavior. 'The comments captured in the video represent an unacceptable attitude of hatred for lower-income Americans and individuals whose features do not match traditional beauty standards. 'Britt McHenry lost her credibility as a professional journalist when she shamelessly broadcasted this hatred both to the victim in the video and to a global audience of thousands who now bear witness to it. 'Continuing to support Britt McHenry directly threatens not only her potential future victims, but also the integrity of ESPN, the field of American sports media, and journalism as a whole. As the video, obtained by Live Leak, spread online, ESPN, which is owned by Disney, was forced to react. A spokesman confirmed McHenry had been suspended for one week. It is unclear whether a more serious punishment will be handed down. Disney has so far refused DailyMail.com's request for a comment. McHenry, who appears impeccably groomed on camera, berated Michelle for her appearance and her job . The apology: McHenry offered up this note as the video of her awful attack spread online Thursday . The backlash: Twitter users mocked McHenry's arrogance and emphasis on appearance . A petition has been launched to see McHenry removed from the network following her outburst . Hundreds of people have reacted to the incident on Twitter as ESPN refuses to comment further . Right after the incident took place, McHenry took her Twitter account to rant about how Adanced Towing is 'corrupt'. She has since deleted the tweet. On Thursday, she turned to social media again to apologize for her actions, saying it was an 'intense and stressful moment' for her. She posted online:  'In an intense and stressful moment, I allowed my emotions to get the best of me and said some insulting and regrettable things. As frustrated as I was, I should always choose to be respectful and take the high road. I am so sorry for my actions and will learn from this mistake.' However, her apology has done little to quell the tirade of fury, and the following day weight discrimination groups began speaking out against McHenry. 'It was extremely sad,' James Zervios, vice president of marketing and communications for the Obesity Action Coalition, told the New York Daily News. 'This is not something that should be socially acceptable. 'It shows that weight bias is something that’s very common in our society.' According to The Big Lead, McHenry was eating Hunan Chinese restaurant on Wilson Boulevard in Arlington when her car was towed. Advanced Towing has been berated in the past with users complaining of double charges and unfair car removals. The firm has an F rating on the Better Business Bureau site.
target: ESPN reporter Britt McHenry was filmed berating tow clerk Gina Michelle .
  Her car had been towed from a Chinese diner in Arlington, VA, on April 6 .
  Enraged, she insulted mother-of-three Michelle's looks, education and job .
  'Lose some weight, baby girl,' McHenry told the worker in the video .
  However, her blog tells women to 'be comfortable in their own skin'
  McHenry apologized on Thursday after security footage surfaced online .
  Advanced Towing Co insists there are no hard feelings towards McHenry .
  Footage released online is believed to have been edited by the tow firm .