Thomas Sotto defends Léa Salamé: Mistakes are part of it!”

Thomas Sotto defends Léa Salamé: Mistakes are part of it!”

In the last few days, the French journalist Thomas Sotto has made his statements about the new presenter of theJournal Televiséon France 2, Léa Salamé, caused a stir. On October 3, 2025, Sotto was at BuzzTV as a guest, where he clearly supported Salamé. Sotto, who is known as the presenter of RTL's matinal show and previously worked for RMC, France Inter and Europe 1, spoke out strongly about the harsh criticism that Salamé has endured since her return in 2025 to succeed Anne-Sophie Lapix.

Salamé, 45 years old and known from the talk showOn n’est pas couché, has already had two controversial incidents in her new role in just a few weeks. On September 15, she asked Marion Cotillard what she considered an inappropriate question about her separation from Guillaume Canet. On September 25, she also confused Henri Guaino with Claude Guéant on a live broadcast, resulting in an embarrassing moment. According to Sobusygirls ratings are also decreasing, which further increases the pressure on Salamé, despite her previous successes and her high recognition as a journalist. Sotto described the criticism as “lynching” and called for more understanding for mistakes on live television.

A positive wind of support

In his defense, Sotto also emphasized that Salamé should not only be seen as a presenter, but also as a respected journalist. “Mistakes happen to everyone, and we should not forget that we are also talking about people, not just public figures,” emphasized Sotto. His support comes at a time when Salamé is suffering from the additional pressure of gender imbalance in the media industry. In a manifesto recently published by journalists in... Liberation was published, the unequal treatment of women in editorial offices is denounced.

According to the study, 46 percent of journalists in France are female, but women earn less and are more likely to have insecure employment relationships. More than 500 female journalists support the demand for more visibility and a fairer image of women. “Imagine how much valuable expertise we lose when women are not heard,” said Claire Alet, spokesperson for the Prenons la Une collective.

The challenge of quotas

Faced with this challenge of offering both feminist and journalistic resistance, Salamé is faced with the task of reconsidering her role in theJournal Televiséto be mastered successfully. Your goal of finding the balance between seriousness and closeness to the audience is not made any easier by the pressure from the audience and the media coverage. The demand that 50 percent of the experts on television should be female clearly highlights the discrepancy and existing stereotypes.

The pressure on Salamé and other journalists is high. The expectations are rigorous and the idea of ​​change is supported by efforts and initiatives such as that of France Télévision, which aims for a quota of 30 percent for women. This makes it clear that what is important is above all: visibility, fairness and combating sexist stereotypes in the media.