In the September issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly, Samantha says: “I think sometimes women need to lighten up a bit”.
“I don’t understand this thing that women do to other women, where you’re either with us or against us. It’s like, hey, I’m a woman too,” says Samantha.
She might get emails rubbishing her hair and her outfits, but she isn’t about to bemoan the lot of women on TV.
“It all comes out in the wash,” she says, “because the boys get bagged for other reasons.” So why is there constant speculation over the female hosts when the men seem to be safe, no matter how old or bald or bespectacled they may be? “It’s a tough industry,” she says, sidestepping the question, “and if your shoulders are not broad you shouldn’t be in it.”
A year into her coveted Sunrise gig, Sam, a self-described “accidental host”, graces the cover of The Weekly’s September issue and reveals she considers herself a feminist.
“You don’t get to where I’ve got to in television by not being one. I am perfectly capable of standing up for myself and I often do,” says Sam, referring to the so-called Strippergate incident – in which Sunrise co-host David Koch brought out a stripper pole for Sam during an online segment.
“I don’t really take that much shit, but that was a stupid prank,” she tells The Weekly. “I don’t think taking a joke is equivalent to being against the feminist cause or letting men win or whatever the argument is. I just wouldn’t expend the energy to get outraged about every dumb thing that happens to me.”
