Samuel Johnson and Sam Pang were secretly embroiled in a feud for years, but the public never knew about it – until now!
Samuel made the surprise revelation last week after he and Sam both attended a charity golf day on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. In a lengthy post shared on the Facebook page of his charity Love Your Sister, Samuel explained things had become awkward with Sam following an incident backstage at the 2017 TV Week Logie Awards.
Samuel, 46, began by saying that he “didn’t mean to be an a–hole” to Sam, 51, and had “been trying to apologise to him for years”.
Although he didn’t provide explicit details of what happened, Samuel hinted that a conversation between them in a lift had gone awry shortly after he’d won the Gold Logie.
Samuel shared: “I behaved badly and said the wrong things. I wasn’t funny. I wasn’t being light. I wasn’t nice. He just looked at me and his face said ‘Why did you just say that?’” He continued that he should “have apologised sooner” but “kept avoiding it”.
The Molly star finally had an opportunity to reconcile with Sam when he learned they would be attending the same star-studded charity event.
But even then Samuel was overcome by nerves. He explained he’d written a letter of apology to Sam, but was too nervous to hand it over himself. So, he asked his Crackerjack co-star Mick Molloy, who works with Sam on The Front Bar, to pass on the letter instead.
“Mick just ushered me over and told me to come say hi,” Samuel explained.
After finally handing over his letter, which was inside an envelope with “a love heart sticker on it,” Samuel was thrilled when Sam graciously accepted his apology and posed for a selfie. He shared the photo alongside the post.
“Sam was so kind. He was so beautiful. Of course, he was,” Samuel wrote.
“It took me five years to admit I was wrong and deal with it. I feel lighter now. I can’t hold on to my sorry’s [sic]. They get so big.”
Sam, who doesn’t have social media, hadn’t publicly responded to Samuel’s revelations at press time.
However, an insider told New Idea: “Sam has been left a little bit perplexed by Samuel’s post about the events on the evening when they met, but he also appreciates the gesture.
“As far as Sam was concerned, there was nothing serious to forgive and whatever happened, happened a while ago, so he’s more than happy to let bygones be bygones.”
Meanwhile, Samuel’s admission of fault was met with positive replies from his fans. “Good on you for holding yourself accountable,” read one response.
“Saying sorry is brave and the right thing to do. Congrats and no surprises that Sam took it kindly,” said another.
Another source tells New Idea: “Samuel is known for wearing his heart on his sleeve, so it’s no surprise that he’s gone into so much detail on his post about the incident.”
The insider adds: “They can both move on from this now – but Samuel especially is relieved that he’s made his peace with Sam at last.”
