Following the spread of a short clip that appears to show her making a racist aside, Sunrise host Samantha Armytage has spoken up, saying that she is “mortified” by the whole incident.
“I would be mortified if anyone thought I would say or think anything racist,” said the Sunrise host, per reports in the Daily Mail. “It’s not in my nature. To anyone who I might have offended, I’m sorry.”
The following video, in which Armytage makes a comment about skin tone during an interview with two British sisters, has spread widely this week:
Seven have since attempted to clarify that Armytage often jokes about the difficulty of managing her fair skin in the Australian climate. An official comment from Sunrise producer Michael Pell, who was called upon for an apology in a Change.Org petition, added:
“We are making this statement to avoid further misunderstanding about Sam’s comment on Sunrise. Sam has always admitted that her own fair complexion was a disadvantage in the Australian environment. We apologise if anyone misunderstood or if they were offended.”
Melbourne artist Jay Fifth, who started the petition, has accepted Armytage’s apology, telling News Limited:
“We all make blunders and sometimes things we say can sometimes cause offence to others whether intended or not… if something we say has genuinely caused someone else offence, we acknowledge it and rectify it. If we slip up, we fess up. Thanks to Sam for her apology.”
via Fairfax
Photo: Lisa Maree Williams via Getty Images
Photo: Lisa Maree Williams via Getty Images
