TV insiders speak out after Sam Armytage’s hurtful tweet about Natalie Barr

Television industry insiders were not impressed by Sam Armytage’s snarky Twitter post about Natalie Barr being desperate for her job as Sunrise anchor.

Posts on Media Spy, a popular online forum for people who work in TV, reveal many disapproved of how Sam, 44, handled a question about her relationship with Nat, 53.

The consensus was that she should have dropped the subject after offering a vague answer on The Kyle and Jackie O Show rather than double down with a hurtful tweet.

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Insiders speak out: Television industry professionals were not impressed by Sam Armytage’s (right) snarky Twitter post about Natalie Barr (left) being desperate for her job as Sunrise host

‘Is she insinuating that she was ousted for Nat? Regardless, not sure why her comments had to even go there. The way she answered it on the show was enough,’ wrote Media Spy user BrekkyTV.

‘It just looks like she is sniping at Nat. She is making it look like she was pushed out [rather than quit], so now people keep questioning the story she told when she left,’ added another user.

A third forum commenter wrote: ‘Nat never said anything directly about wanting the job… so Sam’s clearly trolling.’ 

'Childish': Posts on Media Spy, a popular online forum for people who work in TV, reveal many disapproved of how Sam, 44, handled a question about her relationship with Nat, 53

‘Childish’: Posts on Media Spy, a popular online forum for people who work in TV, reveal many disapproved of how Sam, 44, handled a question about her relationship with Nat, 53

TV gossip: The consensus was that she should have dropped the subject after offering a vague answer on The Kyle and Jackie O Show rather than double down with an unkind tweet

TV gossip: The consensus was that she should have dropped the subject after offering a vague answer on The Kyle and Jackie O Show rather than double down with an unkind tweet

A similar comment read: ‘It’s clear she misses the public attention.’ 

Another added: ‘Sam… won’t let us forget her! She needs to move on. Her tweet will obviously add more scrutiny to her departure.’

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Channel Seven for comment. 

The feud between the warring Sunrise presenters escalated on Monday when former anchor Sam fired off a brutal tweet describing Natalie as desperate for the top job.

Rivals: The feud between the warring Sunrise presenters escalated on Monday when former anchor Sam (centre left) fired off a brutal tweet describing Natalie (left) as desperate for the top job. Pictured with David 'Kochie' Kochie (centre right) and Mark Berretta (right)

Rivals: The feud between the warring Sunrise presenters escalated on Monday when former anchor Sam (centre left) fired off a brutal tweet describing Natalie (left) as desperate for the top job. Pictured with David ‘Kochie’ Kochie (centre right) and Mark Berretta (right) 

After brushing off a question about their rivalry on KIIS FM that morning, Sam criticised Natalie on Twitter for continuing to speak about her in the press three months after taking over as host of Seven’s breakfast show.

‘Look, I’m out. Nat’s wanted the job forever… and she’s finally got it. She just needs to get on and enjoy it – and forget about me (even though I’m unforgettable),’ she tweeted, adding the hashtag #PeaceOut.

Sam was co-anchor of Sunrise from June 2013 until March this year, when she stepped down to spend more time with her family. Natalie, the show’s longtime newsreader, replaced her the week following her departure.

Saga: After brushing off a question about their rivalry on The Kyle and Jackie O Show that morning, Sam doubled down with a hurtful tweet

Saga: After brushing off a question about their rivalry on The Kyle and Jackie O Show that morning, Sam doubled down with a hurtful tweet

Ouch: 'Look, I'm out. Nat's wanted the job forever... and she's finally got it. She just needs to get on and enjoy it - and forget about me (even though I'm unforgettable),' she tweeted

Ouch: ‘Look, I’m out. Nat’s wanted the job forever… and she’s finally got it. She just needs to get on and enjoy it – and forget about me (even though I’m unforgettable),’ she tweeted

Sam’s post contradicted Natalie’s own account of her promotion to co-anchor, as she has always said she didn’t aspire to be host and was surprised when Seven offered her the job in March.

The tweet came hours after Sam offered a very telling response on Kyle and Jackie O when questioned about rumours she didn’t get along with her successor.

She froze when asked about Natalie’s recent interview with The Australian Women’s Weekly in which she claimed they weren’t friends outside the workplace, before saying: ‘Yeah, well, look, I mean it’s better to be talked about than not, isn’t it in life?’

Sam then took a swipe at Natalie for bringing her up in an interview after she’d decided to take a step back from the TV industry.

New chapter: Sam stepped down as host of Sunrise in March to spend more time with her husband, equestrian businessman Richard Lavender (left)

New chapter: Sam stepped down as host of Sunrise in March to spend more time with her husband, equestrian businessman Richard Lavender (left)

‘I thought everyone might forget about me when I was having my little sabbatical, but it seems they’re not, you know?’ she said.

‘Look, there’s nothing interesting going on there, honestly. I’m just doing my thing, out in the country,’ she added.

It comes after Natalie revealed for the first time she didn’t have a close relationship with Sam, whom she replaced as Sunrise anchor on March 15.

When asked about rumours the two women did not get along, Natalie told AWW last week they weren’t friends outside the workplace.

Not friends: It comes after Nat revealed for the first time she didn't have a close relationship with her Sunrise predecessor. When asked about rumours the two women did not get along, Natalie told The Australian Women's Weekly last week they weren't friends outside the office

Not friends: It comes after Nat revealed for the first time she didn’t have a close relationship with her Sunrise predecessor. When asked about rumours the two women did not get along, Natalie told The Australian Women’s Weekly last week they weren’t friends outside the office

She said that while the pair ‘got along well in the office’, they rarely spoke after the cameras stopped rolling because they didn’t have much in common.

‘The truth is we didn’t really see each other outside the office,’ Natalie said.

‘We had vastly different lives, I guess,’ the mother of two added. ‘We were in different places. She was hanging with her friends, and I was spending time with my family.

‘So, yes, we were in different places.’

Controversy: Sam - who quit Sunrise in March, making way for Natalie to replace her - claimed in February she'd been assigned more work than her female colleagues in the past simply because she was unmarried and childless. Pictured with Sunrise co-host David 'Kochie' Koch

Controversy: Sam – who quit Sunrise in March, making way for Natalie to replace her – claimed in February she’d been assigned more work than her female colleagues in the past simply because she was unmarried and childless. Pictured with Sunrise co-host David ‘Kochie’ Koch

Natalie’s interview came after she was reportedly rankled by comments Sam made in a newspaper column in February about working mothers in the TV industry.

Sam claimed she’d been assigned more work than her female colleagues in the past simply because she was unmarried and childless.

She said ‘bosses don’t ask as much of you if you’re a wife or mother’, adding: ‘I’ve never shied away from hard work, but there was an expectation that Sam would do it because she’s got nothing else going on.’

Nat vs Sam: a timeline of their feud 

July 2019: Nat jokingly calls Sam ‘a b***h-faced moll’ when asked if she’s as ‘nice’ as she appears to be on Sunrise.

March 2021: Sunrise co-host David Koch reveals he and Nat weren’t told about Sam’s star-studded farewell lunch at Catalina restaurant in Sydney’s Rose Bay.

March 2021: Nat is rankled by Sam’s claims that married women with children aren’t expected to work as hard in their careers.

April 2021: Sam reveals she hasn’t spoken to any of her former colleagues since leaving Sunrise a month earlier.

May 2021: It’s discovered that Sam doesn’t follow Nat or Kochie on Instagram, despite following many other former Seven colleagues.

June 17, 2021: Nat tells The Australian Women’s Weekly she and Sam were never friends outside of Sunrise.

June 21, 2021: Sam refuses to answer a question about their rumoured feud during an interview on The Kyle and Jackie O Show, and simply says: ‘It’s better to be talked about than not.’

June 21, 2021: Sam later tweets that Nat has ‘wanted her job forever’ and urges her to ‘just get on and enjoy it – and forget about me’.

Working mum: At the time, TV insiders wondered how Natalie would have reacted to this bold statement, given that she regularly picks up international assignments and fills in for her colleagues, despite being married with kids. Pictured with her husband, Andrew Thompson

Working mum: At the time, TV insiders wondered how Natalie would have reacted to this bold statement, given that she regularly picks up international assignments and fills in for her colleagues, despite being married with kids. Pictured with her husband, Andrew Thompson

At the time, many TV insiders wondered how Natalie would have reacted to this bold statement, given that she regularly picks up international assignments and fills in for colleagues at short notice, despite being married with two teenage children.

For months before her departure, rumours had swirled that Sam didn’t get along with Natalie, who was Sunrise’s newsreader before stepping up to the main desk.

Sources also claimed she didn’t see eye to eye with her co-anchor David ‘Kochie’ Koch either.

Feud? It emerged in May that Sam didn't follow Natalie orKochie

Feud? It emerged in May that Sam didn’t follow Natalie or Kochie on Instagram, despite following many other Seven colleagues

These whispers were seemingly confirmed when Natalie and Kochie didn’t attend Sam’s leaving party at the Catalina restaurant in Sydney’s Rose Bay on March 11. 

Eyebrows were raised yet again in May when it emerged Sam didn’t follow either of them on Instagram, despite following many other Seven colleagues.

Sam downplayed this snub on her News Corp podcast earlier this month, saying: ‘I don’t think I unfo… I don’t think anyone’s following anyone in there.’

 

'No users found': These screenshots from May show how Sam wasn't following Natalie or Kochie on Instagram. A search for their handles under her 'following' list yielded no results

‘No users found’: These screenshots from May show how Sam wasn’t following Natalie or Kochie on Instagram. A search for their handles under her ‘following’ list yielded no results

In-depth: Read Natalie's full interview in this month's Australian Women's Weekly, on sale now

In-depth: Read Natalie’s full interview in this month’s Australian Women’s Weekly, on sale now