CANNES LIONS EXCLUSIVE: 'There is no such thing as having it all!' Lisa Wilkinson calls the phrase 'an albatross around women's necks'
- Speaking on MailOnline yacht, Today show host said she 'hates the phrase'
- Said it's about having enough support staff 'to make it through the day'
- Lisa said government must do more to tackle 'tragic' domestic abuse stats
- Also commended social media as way of bringing communities together
She has a successful career, three children and a happy marriage – but Australian TV presenter Lisa Wilkinson has said there is no such thing as ‘having it all’.
Speaking on the MailOnline yacht at the Cannes Lion festival on Monday, the 55-year-old Today show host, who is a strong advocate of women’s rights, called the phrase an ‘albatross around the necks’ of women’.
Explaining that she ‘hates’ the phrase, Lisa said: ‘Can I tell you the truth about that phrase?
Speaking on board the MailOnline yacht at the Cannes Lions festival, Lisa Wilkinson said 'having it all' is really about having a support system in place 'to make it through the day'
‘I consider it an albatross around the necks’ of women – it was termed by a woman called Helen Gurley Brown, the founding editor of Cosmo magazine.
‘She started a movement of magazines that has been very helpful to a lot of women over the years.
‘[But] we’re talking about a woman who had a husband who worked for her. Every day she had a manicurist, a stylist, a hairdresser, a driver, a housekeeper, she had no kids herself, and everything was laid out on a platter for her.
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‘So having it all isn’t about having a career, having kids and a happy marriage, it’s actually about having enough support staff to make it through the day.
‘That is what having it all is really all about. It’s the truth, spread it around.’
For the media personality, who was famously appointed the editor position at Cleo magazine at the age of 21 decades ago, advocating women's rights has often been at the forefront of her agenda.
Lisa, pictured giving a talk on board the MailOnline yacht on Monday night, revealed that she 'doesn't understand' why the Australian government isn't putting more funding into helping domestic violence victims
Lisa spoke to MailOnline clients and VIPs on board its yacht at the Cannes Lions festival on Monday night
All aboard! The MailOnline yacht at Cannes Lions - the biggest creative festival in the world
In 2013 Lisa reportedly walked off the set of Channel Nine's The Today Show for 45 minutes, frustrated her co-host Karl Stefanovic was being given more prolific political interviews.
Meanwhile earlier this year she took aim at the prime minister for his 'broken promises' and 'laundry list' of self-motivated goals, during an appearance on ABC's Q&A in February.
Talking to MailOnline, Lisa, who has been married for 23 years to husband and author Peter FitzSimons, who have three children together - Jake, 21, Lois, 19, and Billie, 17, revealed: ‘Domestic violence in Australia is at epidemic levels.
‘Tragically in recent times we’ve had one woman a week dying at the hands of a partner. And bizarrely this year it’s now increased to two women a week dying at the hands of their partner.
The mother-of-three, who has been married to husband and author Peter FitzSimons for 23 years, said women's issues, including the gender pay gap, need to be 'looked at in a holistic way'
‘And it’s an issue that needs addressing and as much attention and focus and resolute involvement by the government and by everyone coming together and making sure this has to change, it has to stop.’
Lisa commended Rosie Batty, who won Australian Of The Year, for doing an ‘incredible job’, but pointed out that much more needed to be done.
She said: ‘We’ve had women’s shelters closing down, support lines that should be there for women who need someone to talk to when those moments happen and they are in crisis, they’ve been shut and I don’t understand that. And that’s an issue that I really feels more attention than it’s getting.’
Loved-up: Lisa has been married for 23 years to husband and author Peter FitzSimons, with whom she has three children
Lisa, who last December grilled Foreign Minister Julie Bishop about Tony Abbott's role as minister for women, said she ‘doesn’t understand’ why the government isn’t putting more funding into the cause.
She added: ‘People are starting to realise that there’s a crisis going on.
‘And that if we don’t address it – and it’s not just the tragedy of the number of women who are dying, it’s the children, the fall out.
‘So if we don’t look at these issues in a holistic way, and address all sides of the issue, then we’re not addressing the issue at all.’
Talking about her passion for campaigning for women’s issues – including the gender pay gap, which she said is the ‘widest it’s been for 20 years in Australia’ – Lisa said that social media had made a positive contribution.
Television star: Lisa, who co-hosts The Today Show with Karl Stefanovic, reportedly walked off the set in 2013 for 45 minutes, frustrated she wasn't landing political interviews of the same calibre as her co-host
She said: ‘Going back to the domestic violence issue, with the tragedy of Stephanie Scott’s death, the school teacher who died a week before her wedding, that really touched Australia.
‘In terms of the vulnerability of women when it comes to situations and acts of violence and that was really rallied on social media with the campaign of Wear A Touch Of Yellow.
‘And I think people felt quite helpless in a situation like that – where they wanted to show support for the family of Stephanie Scott, her fiancé, and for women across the country who find themselves in vulnerable situations.
‘And doing something like that where it’s a community saying “we’re here for you, we’ll do what whatever we can to make you not feel alone”.’
Serious issues: Lisa, pictured here with fellow Channel Nine presenter Georgie Gardiner, says domestic violence statistics in Australia are devastatingly shocking and need to be address
The TV presenter added that it was a ‘similar situation’ after the siege in Sydney in December, during which 18 victims were held against their will in the Lindt Café at Martin Place in a 17-hour ordeal in which two people were both killed.
Lisa said: ‘People were laying flowers outside the café. I interviewed one of the hostages, Louisa [Hope], who’s in a wheelchair, so she was really helpless in that situation, and she was telling me about what a difference it made to all of the hostages in the days afterwards when they saw in the days afterwards, all of Sydney wanting to say “we’re with you”.
‘We’re falling apart as a community in many ways; we’re no long the village that we used to be.
‘And when those moments of community happen, when it’s all about goodwill, and rallying to a cause, I think that side of human nature really rises to the surface and people are reminded how important it is to be part of the community.’
Speaking about her campaigning, Lisa added: ‘I’m in a fortunate situation that I do get to sometimes speak out about things that will get a headline and will get a response, and I get to talk to politicians and question about whether or not they are involved enough in issues that really matter to the community.
‘It’s a fortunate position, I don’t abuse that position, I feel lucky that I get to do those sorts of things.’
