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Leigh Sales and Annabel Crabb have sparked backlash online after shutting down a chat about their friend Mia Freedman and news of her son's new appointment as Mamamia's new CEO.
News that Freedman's son Luca Lavigne, 28, would be taking the reins of Australia's largest female-focused media company has fostered plenty of discussion – with critics questioning the role of nepotism and debating the decision to appoint a man to lead a brand built around women's voices.
It wasn't long before the debate spilled onto social media, including on the Facebook group for fans of Chat 10 Looks 3, a podcast hosted by ABC stars Sales and Crabb.
As reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, however, Sales has shut down the chat – explaining that her and Crabb's personal friendship with Freedman meant they would not allow further commentary about the appointment.
'I heartily agree – a million male-run family businesses end up with sons or daughters running them and it passes barely remarked,' Sales wrote in response to a post questioning why Freedman and Mamamia had attracted criticism over the decision.
'As Crabb and I are friends with Mia and have known Luca since he was a child, I'm going to not allow commenting on this.'
The decision prompted frustration from some members of the group, with one listener questioning whether a forum designed for discussion could remain open when moderators had personal relationships with the people being discussed.
'I really respectfully want to be able to talk about how we can have a Facebook chat group whereby we are encouraged to post and have open conversations, but get shut down when moderators are friends with the subjects?' the person wrote.
'Isn't that exactly the point of the original post? I'm really trying to understand this,' they added.
Sales later defended the decision, saying the group was not intended to be a space where people could slam public figures.
'What some people are looking for is an excuse to pile onto Mia Freedman in an open forum and I'm not here for it. Closing down comments here too,' she wrote.
The announcement on Monday that Lavigne – whose father Jason Lavigne is also Mamamia's executive chairman – had been promoted to CEO, sent shockwaves through the industry.
Staff learned of the news just before the rest of the industry when the appointment was announced in a cosy interview with Mumbrella which, tellingly, did not include quotes from his parents.
Daily Mail understands the succession was carefully stage-managed, with Lavigne seeking to get ahead of inevitable 'nepo baby' critiques by openly addressing 'how I got in the door here 10 years ago' while emphasising his credentials as a long-serving company operator and proven leader.
News of Lavigne's ascension, unsurprisingly, sent group chats involving current and former Mamamia staff into overdrive on Monday morning.
Some took the weary view that his elevation was all but inevitable, given Lavigne's meteoric ascent through the company since joining as a writer straight out of Sydney Grammar School in 2016.
He had worked as a Merivale bartender for four months before joining the company.
One ex-Mamamia staffer, Keryn Donnelly, couldn't contain herself and posted a Succession meme ('I'm the eldest boy!') that was clearly a dig at Lavigne.
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