rogue

People think Lisa Wilkinson had a "dig" at Jesinta Franklin. Here's what actually happened.

Ugh. Women. Am I right?

Queens of Tall Poppy Syndrome, forever trying to bring each other down and just desperate to make sure the ladder is pulled from the ones coming behind them.

Perhaps it’s their periods? Throwing their rationale off centre a little?

If you haven’t heard, Lisa Wilkinson and Jesinta Franklin are locked in a very fierce, very public battle. That’s women for you! Having little “digs” at each other! Being all cute and passive-aggressive!

Here is a sample of some of the headlines that surfaced on Friday morning after Franklin was interviewed on the Today Show on Thursday. Because there’s nothing like going through the archives and day-old news to concoct your feuds.

Lisa Wilkinson has a dig at Jesinta Franklin: ‘You just kind of wear clothes and walk, right?’

Lisa Wilkinson has a dig at Jesinta Franklin live on air.

‘You’re just kind of wearing clothes and walking?’ Lisa Wilkinson takes a swipe at model Jesinta Campbell in VERY awkward Today show moment.

LISTEN: Lisa Wilkinson is interviewed by Mia Freedman for No Filter. Post continues after audio. 

So what actually happened?

After Franklin told the hosts she’d been working 14 hours days for a week, Wilksonson asked: “What are you doing for 14 hours, because you’re just kind of wearing clothes and walking, right?”

To which Franklin replied: “That is the perception for a lot of models that you put on an outfit and sashay down the runway. Yesterday I had about 20 media interviews back-to-back, I had hair and make-up, I had briefings and I had rehearsals.”

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But if you read the aforementioned coverage, you’d assume it went something like this:

Wilkinson: Haha! But you’re just a model! Don’t models do nothing all day? Haha!

Franklin: No, I’m not just a model. I would like to now publicly announce this VERY awkward moment means we are now feuding.

Forget the fact Lisa Wilkinson, in all her years of TV wisdom and experience, was probably actually giving Jesinta Franklin both the platform and opportunity to explain that models do far more than just walk the catwalk and look pretty.

Forget the fact it was probably a very deliberate and very leading question.

Forget the fact Wilkinson was marvelling at Franklin’s workload just seconds before the “VERY awkward” moment was captured.

Oh, and forget the fact Wilkinson and Franklin have worked closely together on the show for years, and probably know and respect each other far more than we would ever know.

Putting comments in context is way too exhausting. Have you not heard “alternative facts” are in vogue?

Next week in our weekly coverage of VERY awkward public feuds: two other women.

One will probably be Sam Armytage.