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HAIR DEBATE: News anchor Angela Green (right) with her intern

A VIDEO of a black news reporter in the US telling her naturally curly haired intern to straighten her hair for work, has gone viral.

Angela Green, weeknight news anchor for WNCT in Greenville, North Carolina, posted a video last week to her Facebook account on the topic of natural hair, asking whether or not naturally curly hair should be straightened.

The video has since gone viral, with more than one million views, and has sparked a passionate debate on social media.

“The topic is natural hair in the workplace. Very sensitive to a lot of people. I’m natural. As many of you may or may not know, I’m biracial. My mother is from Thailand and my father is Black. See my hair? Straight. Y’all comment about it all the time. But if I were to go natural, my hair would be curly.

"But for right now, we’re not going to do curly hair because my bosses like it that way, so that is what we are going to go with,” Green said in a video taped on her mobile phone.

She then introduced 19-year-old Madison, a broadcasting intern at the news station. Green asked Madison what she was told about her hair, and Madison replied, “Too big and I needed to straighten it. Straighten it out. It would be distracting.”

Green responded: “Distracting, well that is a very interesting word. But in the world of TV we see it all. It just depends in what market, what audience you’re looking for right now. And really, your bosses and what they allow you to do.

"My advice is straighten for the sake of the school project. Depending on what market you get in, when you’re older, that is something that you have to deal with. But in the workplace, just for this one, my suggestion was to just straighten it out just to please everybody. But everybody won’t roll with that answer. What would your suggestion be to Madison and other young professionals rocking their natural hair?”

Needless to say, some people were upset with Green for giving what they thought was horrible advice.

On Facebook, one person commented: "I feel that it was absolutely horrible that you would advise her to straighten her hair. You’re teaching her to hate herself. She could easily put her hair in a bun or wore [sic] it in its natural state. Are you advising her to conform on the basis that you are afraid to stand up for yourself? Stop hating who you are. I work in corporate America and has [sic] never been asked to straighten my hair. I can not understand why the hair the [sic] grows from your scalp is unprofessional!!!"

Another said: "Forget about it being the style and trend. Growing hair out of one’s scalp is not a trend, it’s just how it is. If people are distracted so much by hair they can’t watch the news, the problem is not your intern. The problem is people. And you are a lovely woman and I understand the importance of People of Colour just getting in and occupying jobs we are not usually privy to, but the answer to 'straighten it just to please people' was very sad to me. People need to get used to seeing a diverse cross section of humans on their tv, as characters and trusted TV reporters, etc. When it becomes NORMAL to wear your hair the way it grows out of one’s head- that’s when we’ll have true progress in this conversation."

But not all of the comments were in disagreement with Green. Some people indicated that she gave the intern great advice, since she was speaking from experience.

"I actually love this post," said one supporter. "Kudos to you Angela. You used this platform to shed light on a situation that needs to be discussed more but more so give your producers/bosses an idea of how we may get offended by such statements. From a professional standpoint depending on the story/production her hair can indeed dominate the screen. Putting it in a bun or using a product to allow her hair to be curly without dominating so much would be ideal. She wants viewers to see and hear her story and not just see her hair. Her hair is beautiful. I’m not sure why people are upset as if you told her to put a relaxer in her hair."

Another chipped it: "I say straight. Only because it’s business. Straightening your hair should not affect your principles if it’s for your passion. Big hair can be distracting on camera at times. My hair is natural and I blow it straight all the time only because it’s easier to manage as an on the go Editor. I really don’t think people should be upset or look beyond the point. It’s just business."