GMA’s Sam Champion causes a stir as he defends himself in backstage video: ‘Don’t judge me’ 

Sam Champion is an incredibly popular person both on GMA and away from work, but that’s not without its challenges. 

The ABC star appeared in a backstage video posted on Instagram on Thursday, where he ended up defending himself over his action when it came to text messaging etiquette. 

The anchors were all asked to reveal how many unread text messages they had on their phone, and afterwards were told to guess who out of their colleagues had the most. 

When it came to Sam, he triumphed all the others, admitting he had 684 unread messages dating back to 2024. “I just want to say, don’t judge me,” he said laughing.

After the clip was shared on social media, fans were quick to respond to his revelation. “Why Sam?!!” one wrote, while another joked: “We listen, we don’t judge.” A third added: “Sam!!!!!! Seeing that number would drive me insane.” 

© Instagram

This week, Sam not anchored on GMA, but GMA3 too, filling in for Ginger Zee. 

He returned on Thursday after suffering from “brutal” food poisoning, which he spoke about in an Instagram Live before going on air that morning. 

© ABC via Getty Images

He joked that he had nearly reached his goal weight a lot sooner than anticipated, but that luckily he was now on the mend. He also spoke in the footage about his upcoming move with husband Rubem Robierb. “Rubem is coming up in May and we are going to be looking at apartments downtown and everything is going to be exciting,” he said. 

Sam and Rebem split their time between New York City, Florida and Brazil. The couple tied the knot in December 2012, choosing to do so at their New York City apartment, making it all the more intimate. 

© Photo: Getty Images

After their wedding, Sam said on GMA: “Rubem said it best. It’s the societal affirmation of our relationship. We feel like it’s the most important relationship in our lives, and so to be able to share this with the people we love and have it legitimized in that way is really profound. It’s not something we take lightly at all.” 

Sam gushed about Rubem during an interview with Aventura Magazine in 2022. “We are happiest when together now more than ever,” he said. “We always put the other first. We both believe his needs are more important than mine.” 

© Cindy Ord

Rubem was there for Sam last year when he was diagnosed with skin cancer. He underwent surgery to remove basal cell carcinoma after noticing a spot under his left eye. He returned to work just under two weeks later, and opened up about his journey on social media. 

He wrote: “There have been so many advancements in sun protection, sunscreen and laser treatments for pre-cancerous areas, so I hope, one day, no one has to go through surgery to get rid of skin cancer,” he said on the air. 

“But right now, we have to keep our eye on our skin, our hands on our skin, be very vigilant and notice any unusual spots, and if those spots start to change, immediately get care.” 

He also shared a warning about sun care, saying he never goes outside now without sun protection, adding: “No matter how old you are… no matter what your skin tone, your skin type, your skin color, they’re cutting skin cancer off everybody, so it’s everybody’s issue.”