Hedley fan Kayla Andrews says that she’s “blown away” by Jacob Hoggard’s offer to fly her and a guest to one of Hedley’s Canadian festival dates this summer.
Hoggard has issued an apology to Andrews in response to her description of an interaction with him at the Sundance on Friday, when she said the singer turned to her and said, “Hey! Look, it’s a midget!”
“Our fans are our No. 1 priority,” Hoggard said in a statement on Hedley’s Facebook page. “This is why it saddens me to hear a comment I may have made in St. John’s was hurtful to one of you, and for that I am sorry.”
Upon hearing the news, Andrews said that she is still unsure whether or not she will accept the offer.
“I’m still kind of in shock,” she said.
Andrews sparked a frenzy of social media attention after her story appeared in Geoff Meeker’s blog for The Telegram, “Meeker on Media” on Tuesday, which has now reached more than 15,000 views and received more than 140 comments.
According to Meeker’s blog post, “Hoggard’s comment was doubly rude because Kayla stands 4’7”, and is indeed a short-statured person.”
Andrews had attended Hedley’s concert at Mile One stadium earlier that night, so when she saw Hoggard at the bar, she decided to approach him and maybe ask for a photo.
“I was disappointed in what happened,” Andrews told The Telegram. “I never thought my first encounter with him would turn out that way.”
When Meeker saw the apology Thursday afternoon, he was pleased the story had reached enough people to turn the situation around.
“I thought about how Kayla must be feeling at that moment, and I have to confess, it made me misty,” Meeker says. “It’s tremendously satisfying to know that it actually made a difference, and helped right a wrong.”
Some of the comments on the blog accuse Andrews of being an attention-seeker for telling her story. Meeker says that this is not the case.
“The truth is, I saw a comment she left on Facebook at the HITS FM page, and contacted her, offering to do a story. She did not seek out this exposure, nor did she expect this outcome. And I am delighted for her.”
Even though Andrews’ decision remains unseen, comments continue to pour in on Hedley’s Facebook page. Many have tried to help the band get in contact with her.
Hoggard closed his statement by saying that he would like to apologize to Andrews personally.
lesley.leroux@thetelegram.com
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His reputation was wrecked long before this because there have been numerous incidences before this one believe me.