See Welfare Activist's On-Air Reaction to Reporter's Claim About Why Some Detroiters Have Stopped Paying Water Bills

Things got very tense when WDIV-TV reporter Hank Winchester reported on Tuesday that some people in Detroit have stopped paying their water bills because they feel like "they are always going to get water."

The Detroit Water and Sewage Department has shut off water for more than 12,000 people who haven’t paid their bills, which some activists claim constitutes a “violation of the human right to water.”

(MSNBC)

One of those activists, Michigan Welfare Rights Organization Chair Maureen Taylor, appeared on MSNBC with Winchester to discuss the situation — and she let Winchester know that she thinks he’s a liar.

“We know there are people who have tough financial situations. We work here in Detroit, we survived bankruptcy, we get it, we see it everyday,” Winchester said. “But unfortunately, there are people that do not feel like they need to pay this bill, that they are always going to get water.”

Winchester confirmed that he’s spoken to people who made a decision not to pay their water bills, adding that they’ve heard from people on both sides of the issue.

“No he hasn’t talked to anybody like that,” Taylor interrupted.

When told by the show’s host that she needed to let him answer, she said, “I don’t know why, you can tell he’s lying, his lips are moving.”

“It’s alright, Hank, I’ll find you out in the field,” she added.

Taylor also accused Winchester of spreading “disinformation” and called his claim that people don’t want to pay their water bills “scandalous.”

"The next time you invite me to be here, let's have some truth and a fair exchange as opposed to Hank who doesn't know what the hell he's talking about,” the activist concluded.

To be fair, Winchester never said there weren’t people who are actually unable to pay their water bills. He said there are certainly people on both sides, but simply confirmed that he has encounter people who have chosen not to pay for water.

Watch part of the segment via MSNBC here:

(H/T: HuffPost)