WATCH: Lucille Ball Defended Audience Members From A Handsy Host

Inaction is easy, but what is easy is not always right. After cementing her place in television history, Lucille Ball could have coasted on what her hard work had earned her. But whenever she saw wrongs committed, she went out of her way to take action. In one example of throwback footage that’s resurfaced online, Ball can be seen defending female audience members when a host kept invading their personal space.

If anyone was going to dig her heels in for some much-needed change, it would have been Ball. She and Desi Arnaz shaped the television landscape at one of the most formative points of its development, with Ball redefining the power women held in the industry. The couple’s production company, Desilu Productions, is also credited—thanks to Ball and Arnaz’s creative vision—with changing how studios made films and shows, like the use of three cameras and a live studio audience. But here is how Ball was there in an equally meaningful way for audience members in need of an powerful advocate.

Lucille Ball reprimanded a host who kept touching female audience members

As part of the television program America Alive!, Ball participated in an interview with UCLA students. This event, which took place in 1978, allowed students to engage in a Q&A session with Ball herself.

However, one of the hosts, David Sheehan, caused one uncomfortable disruption after another when he continually put his hands on any female audience members wishing to speak and ask questions. The incident in question has come back to light thanks to social media, where it is receiving renewed attention on TikTok.

But this also shows off Ball’s unwillingness to sit idly by. Now, a fresh wave of viewers can see Ball refuse to succumb to pressure; while those around her chuckled, Ball remained stern in setting up boundaries.

History repeats or rhymes

Longtime fans of Family Feud may have been surprised to learn the name of the host, in this scenario, was not Richard Dawson, whose practice of kissing female contestants earned him the moniker the Kissing Bandit.

His antics received criticism by some viewers and producers during his tenure on the game show. Dawson would defend his actions, saying he started the habit to comfort a particularly nervous guest who couldn’t produce the right answer.

“I said, ‘I’m going to do something that my mom would do to me whenever I had a problem of any kind,’” he claimed in explanation, “And I kissed her on the cheek, and I said, ‘That’s for luck.’ And she said, ‘Asparagus.’ … They went on to win.”

It may not have been related to Dawson’s antics, but today, Ball’s defiance has found favor with modern audiences. “Lucille Ball always reminds me of my grandma,” one social media viewer mused fondly, “She hated to be seen as delicate, and she hated men that would touch her even more. She would say, stone-faced, ‘Get your paws off.’”

Revisit the remarkable moment in the video below.

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