Australian TV host causes outrage as she congratulates girl on her 'fair skin'

A petition has been launched asking for Sunrise's Samantha Armytage to apologise for comments she made on-air last month, dubbed by some viewers as 'racist'.

The cause of controversy came when the 37-year-old interviewed non-identical twins from the UK, Lucy and Maria Aylmer, who have become a sensation around the world due to their opposite skin tones.

Introducing the 18-year-old's, Armytage congratulated ginger-haired Lucy on getting 'her dad's fair skin,' saying 'good on her.' 

'The Aylmer twins come from a mixed race family in the UK,' the Seven presenter's introduction began. 'Maria has taken after her half Jamaican mum with dark skin and brown eyes and curly dark hair, but Lucy got her dad's fair skin, good on her, along with straight red hair and blue eyes.'

Still, the comment wasn't received well by many viewers, who took to social media to express their displeasure and to accuse her of making a 'racist' remark.  

In an interview with Seven's Hamish McLachlan, Samantha said she can be 'fragile at times' thanks to her grueling schedule, which she described as torturous.  'Remember I get up at 3:40 every morning - and sleep deprivation is a form of torture they used at Guantánamo Bay, so I can be fragile at times.'

SOURCE

I gather that the comment was directed at the problems of fair skin -- sunburn etc.  It's only commenters who saw it as racial. The TV presenter was in fact trying to console the fair girl but did not choose her words with the precision that is required of  public figures these days.

UPDATE: We also read:  "Mixed race twins Lucy and Maria Aylmer have defended Samantha Armytage's comments about their skin colour on Sunrise last month, which were dubbed 'racist' by some viewers. On Tuesday Lucy, 18, released a statement on Facebook on behalf of her sister and mother, saying, 'we believe she did not meant this as a racial comment and we have taken no personal offence to it (sic)...  Lucy and her family believe Armytage's comments were misinterpreted by viewers and what was made as a remark of solidarity has been perceived as racially offensive."