The REAL reason behind Edwina Batholomew’s scandalous tweet to Seb Costello – and how the incredible blunder almost led to all-out TV warfare between Seven and Nine
Sunrise presenter Edwina Bartholomew’s seemingly shocking public attack on Channel Nine’s Seb Costello was actually meant to be no more than a private message to a friend.
Edwina intended to send her tweet about Nine’s former Europe correspondent and reporter in a Twitter direct message, presumably to a media industry mate, colleagues said.
Instead, the breakfast show host posted the snarky tweet publicly for Costello and her almost 60,000 followers to see, sparking blistering legal threats from the rival network.
The tweet, which cannot be reprinted in full, said: ‘Surprisingly articulate for a ………’
Twitter blunder: Edwina Bartholomew (above) has told colleagues she meant to send her Seb Costello remark to a friend … but she accidentally posted it on her timeline
Seb Costello is a Nine News reporter in Melbourne and former Europe correspondent for the network. He is pictured with his father, former Treasurer Peter Costello
In a statement, Edwina, who is pregnant and on assignment in the UK, explained she was sleepy and in another time zone at the time of her ‘errant tweet’.
She apologised to Costello.
‘I was half asleep and on the other side of the world,’ she told the Herald Sun on Saturday.
‘My apologies to Seb and all involved.
‘No offence was intended and hopefully none was taken.
‘It was clearly a mistake and the errant tweet has been deleted.’
But furious executives at Nine have reportedly suggested the network could sue Edwina over her ‘errant tweet.’
The tweet was online for about 50 minutes before it was deleted.
Edwina’s target, Costello, is a long-time reporter for Nine and newsreader for Triple M. He is also the son of Nine’s chairman, the former federal Treasurer Peter Costello.
The Nine Network’s Melbourne newsroom Twitter feed had posted a video of Costello reporting on a security scare at Victorian state parliament, and Edwina’s message was a response to that tweet.
On Saturday morning, Edwina Bartholomew posted a scathing tweet in response to a Nine News Melbourne video of Seb Costello. It was deleted 50 minutes later
A Nine Network spokesperson said Costello and Nine were ‘devastated and shocked at the damaging and false nature’ of Edwina Bartholomew’s tweet
Nine has reportedly continued to make an issue out of Edwina’s tweet since it set social media alight on Saturday.
In a statement to The Australian, a Nine spokesperson said on Sunday: ‘Seb and Nine are devastated and shocked at the damaging and false nature of this personal attack on a public platform.’
The network previously jumped to Costello’s defence in 2017 after he took a three week break from the airwaves at the tail end of his posting in Europe.
At the time, the leave sparked discussion about ‘where is Seb?’ on social media, prompting Nine to threaten legal action about any ‘false or defamatory’ reports about their correspondent.
As for Edwina, she was lashed by breakfast television fans on social media over the weekend.
One such fan tweeted in response to Eddie’s apology: ‘What a load of crap, half asleep! … Take ownership of your tweet’.
A Seven spokeswoman was contacted for comment.
