Sam Armytage claims paps are trying to make money off her
SUNRISE host Samantha Armytage claims “bastard” paps went to desperate lengths to snap a photograph of her at the beach yesterday so she shared a swimsuit picture of herself “for free.”
Confidential
Don't miss out on the headlines from Confidential. Followed categories will be added to My News.
SUNRISE host Samantha Armytage claims “bastard” paps went to desperate lengths to snap a photograph of her at the beach yesterday so she shared a swimsuit picture of herself “for free.”
The 41-year-old spent the scorching day with a group of friends when she says a drone was used in an attempt to capture her day out at the beach.
Armytage used Instagram to spray their attempts online with the hashtag “p*ss off paps.”
“Lovely, quiet, relaxing Sunday swimming with friends ... & 4 paparazzi & a drone. Bastards,” she wrote overnight.
“Trying to ruin my weekend bliss & make money from pics of me in my swimmers.
“Well here’s one for free #pissOffPaps.”
The “free” photograph is a similar tactic used by Australian pop icon Sia, who shared a nude photo leak in November after she discovered that a paparazzo was shopping them to the highest bidder.
MORE: Steph Claire Smith only models things she genuinely loves
MORE: Controversial couple Lisa and David Oldfield head into the jungle
MORE: Hollywood star Kate Hudson hits Bondi Beach
“Someone is apparently trying to sell naked photos of me to my fans. Save your money, here it is for free. Everyday is Christmas!” Sia announced on Twitter at the time.
Armytage, who publicly lashed out at media for asking about her love life recently despite addressing it herself on numerous occasions, marked her four year anniversary of co-hosting Sunrise last August.
At the time, Armytage demanded a shift in focus from her love life following her Sunrise interview with Queensland “hot cop” Mason Jago.
“I’m one of the country’s senior female journalists. I host a fast-moving, wideranging, top-rating, 4-hour daily breakfast program ... I have minors in American Politics & PR / marketing ... So if you ever want to ask me any intelligent questions (including but not limited to; our politicians’ citizenship, the state of the Australian cricket team, beef prices ...) I’d be happy to answer them,” she wrote last August.
The spat came during the same month she had an uncomfortable confrontation with comedian Kathy Griffin on air.
Armytage brought up Griffin’s widely-criticised photoshoot with a bloodied severed head resembling Donald Trump, and asked if she’d gone too far.
Griffin fired back angrily: “You’re full of crap. Stop this. You know this. Stop acting like my little picture is more important than talking about the actual atrocities that the President of the United States is committing.”
On Mark Latham’s Outsiders a month after the blow up, Armytage explained that she’d felt a responsibility to their audience to “call [Griffin] on it” because no one else had done so during her promotional interviews.
“As a journo, I sensed that she was happy to give it but not take it. Personally, I think the beheading joke wasn’t very funny,” she told the panel.