Mia Freedman ‘mortified’ by Roxane Gay podcast ‘fat shaming’ accusations
Founder of Mamamia Women’s Network Mia Freedman has issued an apology after she was accused of ‘fat shaming’ and breaching a podcast guest’s privacy when she revealed intimate details of phone calls and emails which took place ahead of the No Filter podcast recording.
Best-selling author and feminist commentator Roxane Gay appeared on Freedman’s No Filter to discuss her life story and the launch of her book Hunger, however in the introduction to the podcast Freedman disclosed details of emails and phone calls between Mamamia staff and Gay’s publicity team, which took place ahead of the interview.
The ‘Mamammia Team’ issued an explanation and apology last night, and altered the podcast’s introduction, however until now Freedman herself has remained silent.
This afternoon, in a separate post, Freedman admitted she had made many mistakes and said she had learnt her lesson.
“The last 24 hours have been an extraordinarily searing lesson,” she said in a post on Mamamia. “I should never have been so cavalier in revealing details about my interview with Roxane Gay that should have remained private. I understand that now.
“Can she fit into the lift?” Shame on you @Mamamia https://t.co/14RNv2Ig0B
— roxane gay (@rgay) June 13, 2017
“I made many mistakes. The first and worst was not understanding the difference between Roxane writing her book, Hunger, about her experiences and difficulties of trying to navigate the world and me talking about that experience from the outside, from my perspective.
“I mistakenly assumed that because she spoke about it, I could too. But this is not my story to tell and I should not have included it in the intro to the podcast or the podcast description. It was disrespectful and it upset her and for that I am deeply, deeply sorry. Unconditionally sorry.”
The unconditional apology comes after backlash to the Mamamia Team’s post last night, which many felt was not sufficiently remorseful.
.@Mamamia You are awful, awful people. This is no apology. It’s a justification for despicable behaviour.
— Lou (@MsLou27) June 13, 2017
Who wants to guess that the #mamamia ‘apology’ to @rgay will be along lines of “I never meant to” “I didn’t realise” “I was just trying to”?
— Nakkiah Lui (@nakkiahlui) June 13, 2017
It’s @MiaFreedman not her website who owes Roxane Gay an apology & the Statement on @mamamia‘s website has been crafted to avoid doing that
— Mal’s Malcontent (@sibylline_ish) June 14, 2017
Much of the criticism lobbed at Freedman and Mamamia questioned how a site which purports to promote feminism, equality and positive body image could exploit a guest in this manner, which Freedman also addressed in her apology.
“Reading Roxane’s book hunger taught me so much and opened my eyes to what life can be like for her and other women of her size. Because they are so much more than that,” she said.
“It’s something I’ve fought for my entire career in the media, a more diverse portrayal of women. More acceptance for different body shapes. An end to body shaming. The irony of me upsetting and distressing someone who has been so influential and instrumental in the way I view feminism and body image is not lost on me. I am beyond mortified, horrified and ashamed that I could have, in any way contributed to Roxane Gay feeling anything other than fierce, brilliant and beautiful. Because that’s what she is and that is what I’ve always thought her to be.”
Freedman then encouraged Mamamia readers to purchase Gay’s book Hunger.
Today was supposed to be about my new book. That is what I wanted. And then an Australian website made today painful.
— roxane gay (@rgay) June 14, 2017
Whatever. Just what the fuck ever.
— roxane gay (@rgay) June 13, 2017
Mamamia has quite the record in the last 2 years. Would make a fascinating subject for a bit of investigative journalism.
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The apology is still all about her – typical Mia Freedman, no clue. Good ideas but no idea how to execute them. This will be at least good clickbait for her site & drive up revenue.
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Mamamia got it wrong, and they apologised. What they were trying to do was in keeping with how Ronxane Gay communicates. It was clever, but wrong (and they admit it). End of story – well not quite.
Roxanes tweets today linking to the story again suggest this episode will be wonderful publicity and more books will be sold.
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…shining through. No sincerity or authenticity in this business, pure opportunism & exploitation for clicks and the dollar.
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I understand Mia made a mistake, but I dont understand this level of vitriol when we have journalists like Miranda Devine delivering bigoted, antiquated views on a regular basis and gets away with it.
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if Miranda Devine had made those comments, the vitriol would be 10x
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Oh so now Mia Freedman is “the victim”? Even down to Mumbrella’s choice of a submissive, coquettish Freedman looking up to the camera plaintively? It fools no-one. Freedman is [edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy]. Why does the media continue to give this woman a free pass on anything she says and does? Save the free pass for those who have earned their success, not to those who had it given to them on a silver platter.
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“I made many mistakes. The first and worst was not understanding the difference between Roxane writing her book, Hunger, about her experiences and difficulties of trying to navigate the world and me talking about that experience from the outside, from my perspective”
Really? Come on, you’re not a newbie at this. You’re a mature adult who’s been working in media a long time. Not everything’s about your perspective. Not really an apology.
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Hi Mia,
You’re a great person, not perfect, but definitely trying to do the right thing. I’ve listened to your podcast and your admiration for Ms. Gay is obvious….. it’s also obvious that she’s almost looking for anything you may say that she considers offensive.
Ms. Gay writes a whole book about her difficulties in this world being fat….. then gets extremely & easily offended if anyone points it out, even when done in without any malice…. Grow up Ms. Gay
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Back track, back track, back track….. signal more virtues to fix it I reckon
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Thanks Alex, I agree. I actually read the original article when it was published before the backlash, and it didn’t occur to me that it was so awful. In fact, I thought it was an interesting way of explaining what the book is obviously about and the struggles of being overweight. I don’t believe it was intended as click bait to deliberately offend Ms Gay – I originally read it as a way of actually trying to drawing empathy to her situation and her book. But of course I can see how it crossed the line.
Mia Freedman is unfortunately a very easy target for nasty critics and trolls because she has made a lot of money from her websites and social commentary. Yes she makes mistakes. Yes Mamamia publishes click bait. It also publishes thoughtful opinions on issues like feminism, positive body image, gay marriage, mental health etc. After last year’s US election, Freedman actively sought to interview people like Miranda Devine for a podcast series on the importance of genuinely listening to people who have opposing views to your own.
In that context, I think the backlash over this one poor choice of article is hugely disproportionate and unfair, particularly for someone who has so strongly advocated for positive image for women of all sizes, for so long.
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Mike, this comment tells me more about your character than it does about ‘this woman’ Mia Freedman’s.
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Mia’s comments weren’t deliberately trying to fat-shame or even criticise Roxane. In fact, they were trying to bring attention to her struggles and her book, albeit done badly and backfiring.
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It’s hardly news that Mia is a shrewd self promoter who will say or do anything to remain in the spotlight. The heartless, unkind intro was designed simply to get attention; to hell with the individual’s feelings. Still, it’s got us talking about her – again -and maybe more people will buy HER book now. Ideal timing for a new controversy..
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No Elspeth, Mia’s comments were NOT ‘trying to bring attention to her struggles and her book’. They were carefully crafted to shock and lure the listener/reader in and generate a larger audience/traffic which = more adv $$$ for MM. Mia’s business is about building an audience to sell ad revenue against – not selling Roxanne’s books.
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