Host of 'The Demetria Obilor Show'

Demetria Obilor | Biography

Former Traffic Ensemble Anchor and Reporter, WFAA-TV Channel 8

• By Ashna Tamrakar
• Original : August 20, 2021

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Demetria Obilor is a television host best recognized for hosting ABC’s Channel 8’s traffic ensemble reporter and anchor. In 2017, she made headlines for her inspiring answer to a viewer’s body-shaming narrative.

Who Is Demetria Obilor?

Demetria Obilor is an American television personality, program host, journalist, and social media influencer. In January 2011, she began her television career at KUHJ-TV, a student station, as the Kansan update correspondent. 

Why did Demetria Obilor Leave WFAA-TV Channel 8?

Obilor joined ABC-affiliated WFAA in Dallas as a traffic ensemble anchor in October 2017. She then hosted the IAMSTILLUP Digital Show, covering trends and pop culture. She later confirmed her departure from the network in October 2019. She quit the network to pursue new opportunities. Since then, she has been a self-employed media personality in the Las Vegas area, where she conducts celebrity interviews and reports other social commentary segments. 

Early Age & Education 

Demetria Obilor was born on 29 March 1991 in Kansas City, U.S. She was born to a white mother and Nigerian father and grew up with three brothers: Uzoma, Ikenna, and Kelechi. She attended Johnson County Community College in Kansas from 2009 to 2010. She graduated from the University of Kansas in December 2012 with a Bachelor of Science in Broadcast Journalism. 

Career Beginnings 

While she was studying at the University of Kansas, she worked for KUHJ-TV, a university station, as the Kansan update correspondent from January 2011 to May 2011. There, she relayed an on-air broadcast for a special news update featuring top stories from The Daily Kansan, the university newspaper. Subsequently, she also served as a newsroom operator at KUJH-TV News from January 2011 to December 2011. There, she wrote stories, revised screenplays, and recorded live sporting events for the news show’s sports feature, and even operated an audio board and teleprompter.

From mid-2011 to mid-2013, she worked as a production technician and multimedia journalist. In the role, she operated behind the cameras featuring stand-ups and live broadcasts. 

Obilor’s on-air experience dates back to mid-2013 when she served as a traffic reporter for the NBC affiliate in Kansas City, Missouri. Next year, she took on a larger on-air role at CBS Las Vegas, KLAS-TV, anchoring newscasts, interviewing celebrities, producing segments, and reporting on social media trends and traffic. She then worked as a traffic anchor for KLAS-TV’s 8 News NOW for over three years, from July 2014 to October 2017. 

Back then, she was recognized in Vegas Seven Magazine as the “Best Reason to Wake Up Early” and was even dubbed “Traffic Bae” in a viral event that catapulted her into the national spotlight.

The 2017 Viral Body-Shaming Incident 

In 2017, a viewer named Jan Shedd publicly humiliated Obilor’s physical appearance. Shedd wrote in a now-deleted post: “Has anyone seen Channel 8’s new morning traffic reporter? Her name is Demetria Obilor & she’s a size 16/18 woman in a size 6 dress and she looks ridiculous. I understand that when I watch Channel 8 I’m going to get biased reporting and political correctness, but clearly they have taken complete leave of their senses. I’m not going to watch Channel 8 anymore.” 

After that, many social media users defended Oblibor, and she also spoke out about the incident publicly. Obilor said:

“The controversy, it’s coming from people who aren’t too happy with the way that I look on television saying ‘oh her body is too big for that dress’, or ‘she’s too curvy’, or ‘her hair is unprofessional, it’s crazy, we don’t like it’. A quick word to those people: this is the way that I’m built, this is the way I was born, I’m not going anywhere, so if you don’t like it you have your options.” 

Her robust on-air response to the body-shaming jibe while working on-air in Dallas went viral and grabbed public attention, prompting marketing campaigns. She even got support from celebrities such as Tyra Banks, Gabrielle Union, and Chance the Rapper. 

Obilor then appeared on platforms such as including the BBC, Good Morning America, The View, Cosmopolitan, BET, and The Huffington Post and radio and news stations around the country.

Latest Works: Youtube

According to her Linked In, she has been currently self-employed as a media personality in the Las Vegas, Nevada area since October 2019. With her self-created segment titled Live with Demetria, her Linkedin states that she produces and performs live celebrity interviews. She has interviewed many celebrities, including Soulja Boy, Matt Barnes, and NFL Chargers’ Chris Harris Jr. She has also created and published social and political commentary pieces and posted user-generated content of her career.

As of now, she has been hosting the Youtube show The Demetria Obilor Show. On the platform, she has also occasionally vlogged about her life and fashion choices.

Other Ventures

She has appeared on television shows like Out Loud with Claudia Jordan on Fox Soul and Brother from Another on Peacock TV as a guest panelist.

Besides that, Obilor has hosted various events, including a 2019 SXSW Lighting Talk, a 2019 TEDx Talk, award ceremonies for Nevada’s Urban Chamber of Commerce, and the 2018 Arlington NAACP Scholarship Gala, where she co-hosted with the Rev. Al Sharpton.

She also has a huge fan following on the social media platforms with over one million followers on Instagram, over 174k followers on Twitter, over 186k followers on Facebook, and over 156k followers on TikTok as of mid-August 2021.