Sam Armytage: Sunrise host denies racism, reveals death threats
“I can’t wait until you’re dead”: Sam Armytage has denied she is a racist and shared death threats she has received since two old Sunrise segments resurfaced.
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Samantha Armytage has vehemently denied being racist in two Sunrise segments that have resurfaced amid the Black Lives Matter protests and shared the messages of abuse she has received.
The 43-year-old took to Instagram to address the 2018 segment in which she and commentator Prue MacSween discussed the stolen generation.
“It (the segment) covered comments by a government minister calling for new adoption laws following the rape of a two year old girl in the Northern Territory,” she wrote.
“I was completely horrified & sickened by the incident (I still am) and ANY act of child abuse or neglect toward ANY child.
“We discussed the topic because it was front page news that day.
“AT NO STAGE DID I SUGGEST A SECOND STOLEN GENERATION.
“The media regulator ruled Sunrise “breached” the rules.
“Sunrise ran a follow-up segment involving indigenous experts. Sunrise apologised unreservedly & has generously compensated those people whose blurred images were shown in the segment.”
She then denied any wrongdoing in the 2015 segment in which she appeared to congratulate a white teen for having fair skin.
“Anyone who actually watches that video can clearly see I was being self deprecating & was commenting on my own Irish heritage & troublesome pale skin,” she wrote.
“The twins involved agreed. My words may have been clumsy but they were certainly NOT racist.”
The caption accompanied four screen shots of messages or comments she had received online that read: “You deserve every hate that’s coming to you and I can’t wait until you’re dead,” and “Rasict (sic) piece of shit dirty white fat f**king slut, go loose (sic) some weight ya tubby dog.”
Her post comes after news broke yesterday that she and media commentator Prue MacSween are being sued in the Federal Court of Australia for racial vilification after comments made about indigenous families.
A lawsuit lodged by Susan Moriarty and Associates on behalf of Aboriginal Elder Aunty Rhonda Dixon-Grovenor claims that a 2018 segment involving Armytage, Prue MacSween and Ben Davis was “abhorrent”, “vile” and “racist” and recommended another Stolen Generation.
In the March 2018 Hot Topics segment of Sunrise, the three were discussing whether or not indigenous children should be taken away from their families.
According to the claim, Armytage wrongly claimed white families could not foster indigenous children and MacSween then suggested there should be another stolen generation.
“Just like the first Stolen Generation, where a lot of children were taken because it was for their wellbeing, we need to do it again, perhaps,” she said.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority later announced the segment breached the TV code of practice because it “provoked serious contempt on the basis of race”.
The lawsuit also outlined that Channel 7 had already been sued for the segment by members of the Yirrkala Aboriginal community “who were featured in unrelated file footage during the segment”.
They sued for breach of privacy, race discrimination and breach of consumer law and settled for an undisclosed amount in December 2019.
A Channel 7 spokesperson this afternoon said the network had not yet seen the lawsuit.
“Although we don’t disbelieve the reports, Seven is not aware of any actual claim being filed at this stage — so is not able to comment on this action.
“If and when anything is filed, we will review and take the appropriate steps.”
“Seven settled the original matter in late 2019 in the Federal Court with the Yirrkala community and the Yolngu families and offered an unreserved apology on air shortly after.”
Comments made by Armytage in April 2015 about British mixed-race twins Lucy and Mary Alymer went globally viral this week.
Armytage later said she was “mortified” by thought that anyone would find her comments racist.
“The Alymer twins come from a mixed race family in the UK,” she began.
“Maria has taken after her half-Jamaican mum with dark skin, brown eyes and curly, dark hair but Lucy got her dad’s fair skin … good on her … along with straight red hair and blue eyes.”
Armytage later told News Corp Australia she was “mortified” at being accused of making a racist comment.
“I would be mortified if anyone thought I would say or think anything racist,” Armytage said.
“It’s not in my nature. To anyone who I might have offended, I’m sorry.”
Originally published as Sam Armytage: Sunrise host denies racism, reveals death threats