Senior ABC journalist Virginia Haussegger has disclosed that she was part of an interview panel that decided not to hire Sunrise presenter Samantha Armytage for a newsroom position in Canberra. The revelation comes amid a public feud between the two women, sparked by Haussegger's scathing opinion piece in which she labelled Armytage a 'bimbo'.
Armytage had previously claimed she did not know who Haussegger was, prompting the ABC journalist to post on Facebook—a post since deleted—that Armytage had applied for a job in her newsroom. 'I recall she was an excellent candidate,' Haussegger wrote, though Armytage was ultimately unsuccessful.
The feud began after a Sunrise segment featuring actress Kristin Davis, where Armytage and co-hosts performed a Sex and the City skit. Haussegger criticised the segment as 'gender-cringe TV' and accused Armytage of doing feminism a disservice by trivialising Davis's work with refugees.
Sunrise presenter Edwina Bartholomew defended Armytage, tweeting: 'You might be surprised to know even "mindless bimbos" can be feminists.' Haussegger responded that she took no joy in calling any woman a mindless bimbo but stood by her criticism of the segment.
