Nine Entertainment executives are meeting to consider the future of Channel Nine’s highest-paid presenter, Karl Stefanovic, after the Today show co-host published and then quickly deleted an interview with UK far-right activist Tommy Robinson. Stefanovic, who is on leave from Today, filmed himself walking down a London street with his arm slung around Robinson, who has spearheaded recent nationalist demonstrations in the UK.
Interview removed from platforms
By Wednesday morning, the Robinson interview had been removed from YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. The promo had been wiped from Stefanovic’s Instagram account. There was no indication as to why, or explanation of who took the action – but it was understood the decision to remove the content was not made by YouTube. On YouTube, the previous working link redirected to a page saying “Video unavailable. This video is private.” On Spotify and RSS, the interview did not appear in Stefanovic’s feed. At the time of writing, the promo and a clip from the interview were still published on Stefanovic’s X feed.
Nine distances itself from podcast
Nine has consistently said the Karl Stefanovic Show is an independent production and has declined to comment on its increasingly rightwing content. But on Wednesday, the network changed tack and distanced itself from the podcast, saying the company was “taking this matter seriously.” “The Karl Stefanovic Show is a completely independent production,” a spokesperson said. “Nine has no involvement, including in the guest selection and other editorial processes. However, Nine is taking this matter seriously.”
Stefanovic, who is on two weeks’ leave from Today, was nominated on Monday for a Logie award for most popular news or public affairs presenter for his role on Today. Guardian Australia understands shareholders have made their displeasure known to Australia’s biggest media company, where Stefanovic has been the face of the Today show and Nine News for more than 20 years and is paid $2.8 million annually.
Internal concerns and reactions
The company insisted it did not order Stefanovic to take the Robinson content offline, but Guardian Australia understands discussions between Nine and the star presenter are ongoing. Many of Nine’s journalists are concerned about the reputation of the company’s mastheads, which include the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age, and there has been “widespread gnashing of teeth” over the friendly treatment of a figure like Robinson, sources not authorised to speak publicly said.
In the now-deleted Instagram clip, Stefanovic places his arm around Robinson and the caption says: “What happens when speaking your mind comes at a cost? Now live on the show, Tommy Robinson shares his story, chatting all about free speech, censorship, immigration and the direction he believes Britain should be heading in.” “Can I ask you a question?” Robinson asks him. “Keir Starmer is a … ?” “Wanker,” says Stefanovic, as the pair laugh loudly together.
Political figures weigh in
The One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, who was the first guest on the podcast, jumped on the controversy, claiming in a social media post Nine was “trying to sack my good friend Karl Stefanovic for this video with Tommy Robinson.” “Now with 6 months to go on his contract the weak management of Channel 9 want to sack Karl over this interview,” the post said. “Tommy Robinson has a lesson for Australians. If we don’t learn from the UK’s mistakes on immigration and radical Islam, we are going to face the same destruction. This is exactly what Karl was trying to bring to Australia’s attention.” Hanson reposted the full video of the interview on her social media channels.
In the interview with Robinson, Stefanovic does not challenge his more contentious views and says: “I really do admire your tenacity and the courage that you’re showing in trying to stand up for what you believe is right.” Independent MP Sophie Scamps posted on Instagram that even the Reform UK leader Nigel Farage had distanced himself from Robinson. “Nine needs to seriously consider its association with Stefanovic,” she said.
Upcoming interviews and next steps
Stefanovic has not addressed why the Robinson interview was removed but announced via social media an upcoming interview with One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce, rightwing activist and former singer Holly Valance, and Dr Aseem Malhorta, who claims “Shane Warne’s death was connected to the covid vaccine.” Stefanovic’s podcast team was approached for comment.
