Leigh Sales and Annabel Crabb received criticism online for ending a conversation about their friend Mia Freedman and the recent news that her son had been appointed CEO of Mamamia.
The announcement that Luca Lavigne, the 28-year-old son of Freedman, will be the new head of Australia’s biggest media company for women has sparked debate. Some people are questioning whether he was given the job due to family connections, and others are discussing whether a man is the right choice to lead a company focused on women’s perspectives.
Things quickly escalated, and the discussion moved to social media – specifically, the Facebook group dedicated to fans of my absolute favorite podcast, Chat 10 Looks 3! It’s hosted by the brilliant Sales and Crabb, and the group was buzzing with everyone’s opinions.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Sales ended the discussion, stating that she and Crabb are friends with Freedman and therefore wouldn’t offer any more opinions on his appointment.
Sales strongly agreed, pointing out that many family businesses led by men are eventually taken over by their children with little attention. She made this comment while responding to a question about why Freedman and Mamamia faced criticism for a similar decision.
Since Crabb and I are close friends with Mia, and we’ve known Luca since he was little, I’m disabling comments on this post.
The decision upset some group members, and one person raised concerns about whether discussions could stay fair if moderators were personally connected to those being talked about.
Someone expressed frustration that posts in a Facebook chat group were sometimes suppressed by moderators who had personal connections to the people being discussed, despite the group’s intention to encourage open and honest conversations.
They wondered if that was precisely what the initial post was about, and said they were genuinely trying to grasp the idea.
Sales explained that the group wasn’t created as a platform for criticizing public figures.
She felt people were just looking for a chance to publicly criticize Mia Freedman, and she didn’t want to allow that on her platform, so she closed the comments section.
The news on Monday that Mia Lavigne – the daughter of Mamamia’s executive chairman, Jason Lavigne – was becoming CEO caused a big stir in the media world.
Employees found out about the announcement shortly before everyone else in the business. The news broke through an exclusive interview with Mumbrella, and notably, his parents weren’t quoted in the piece.
Sources say the transition was planned meticulously. Lavigne proactively addressed potential criticism about benefiting from family connections – the so-called ‘nepo baby’ label – by openly discussing his career beginnings and highlighting his extensive experience and leadership within the company.
When news broke on Monday morning that Lavigne had been promoted, it immediately sparked a flurry of excited messages in group chats among current and past Mamamia employees.
Many felt Lavigne’s promotion was predictable, considering his rapid rise within the company. He’d joined as a writer in 2016, fresh from Sydney Grammar School, and quickly climbed the ranks.
He had worked as a Merivale bartender for four months before joining the company.
Former Mamamia employee Keryn Donnelly publicly shared a meme from the show Succession – specifically, the line ‘I’m the eldest boy!’ – which appeared to be a pointed jab at Lavigne.
2026-07-22 07:34