#BlackWomenAtWork know how Maxine Waters and April Ryan feel

To say Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly and White House press secretary Sean Spicer touched a nerve would be an understatement.

Both men made comments Tuesday that struck many observers as being disrespectful of two prominent and successful black women. And those comments sparked a viral social media reaction.

In O'Reilly's case, he said he couldn't focus on a word that Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., said in a clip shown on Fox & Friends because he was looking at her "James Brown wig."

O'Reilly later apologized, saying it was a "dumb" joke and that he respected Waters "for being sincere in her beliefs."

Spicer took issue with the questions being asked by American Urban Radio Networks reporter April Ryan during a news conference at the White House. Spicer accused Ryan of having a biased agenda and at one point told her "stop shaking your head."

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The treatment of Waters and Ryan was familiar for many black women in the U.S. who've personally experienced being dismissed, disrespected and marginalized — whether subtly or with outright racism — in professional situations.

Some of these women spoke out on Twitter Tuesday, sharing their own experiences as well as their anger at O'Reilly and Spicer under the hashtag #BlackWomenAtWork.

Activist Brittany Packnett got the ball rolling:

Waters herself added her voice to the trending topic.

And so did Hillary Clinton:

Packnett had a feeling #BlackWomenAtWork would take off.