For someone building a career on the importance of free speech, Henry Bretz admits he’s a little perplexed as to why Karl Stefanovic has blocked him on social media. Ironic, really, for a warrior of the First Amendment – even the Australian, unofficial kind.
You see, Bretz is a Stefanovic impersonator, and has been poking fun at the former Today host without so much as a raised eyebrow from the man himself.
That is, until now.
One half of the Sunshine Coast radio duo Archie & Bretz now believes he’s been blocked by Stefanovic – after initially winning a follow, and even a like, from the man himself.
“He followed me after my first video, and he actually liked the first video,” Bretz told Mediaweek.
“Then the next day I posted another satirical video going on about how he’s trying to stay calm, but he came back from a week away, and he and his wife watched Anthony Albanese’s national address and his wife got so angry that she threw her sausage sandwich at the television.
“He unfollowed me after that,” Bretz said.
Bretz said Stefanovic’s profile has since disappeared from his view entirely.
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From follow to block
“I clicked on it, and I couldn’t go to it – it just said it was a blank account, user not found,” Bretz said.
“I searched him up and I cannot find him anywhere, and I’ve been reliably informed by people [who are] still on social media [that he’s gone dark].
“It’s ironic for a warrior of free speech,” he said.
Fans project their own politics
Bretz said the reaction to his videos has cut both ways politically, despite his intentions being purely comedic.
“It’s funny because when you operate in the satirical space, people are pretty quick to transplant their own agendas onto you,” he said.
“I’ve had a lot of people message me saying, ‘thank you for fighting for the progressive left,’ and I’ve had people from the right saying, ‘you’re just a Labor stooge.’ I can honestly say I was just doing it to be funny.”
READ MORE: Karl Stefanovic exits Nine immediately over podcast conflict
READ MORE: Karl Stefanovic fires back at Albanese over Tommy Robinson fallout
A ‘clumsy’ rebrand
Bretz said the satire was partly inspired by what he sees as a shift in Stefanovic’s public persona.
“I thought it was such a clumsy rebrand for Karl – from the lovable larrikin of morning TV, who in the past has genuinely been, if not central in politics, occasionally progressive,” he said.
“There’s his famous stunt where he wore the same suit for a year with Lisa Wilkinson, to point out gender inequity. This was a guy who was, if not overtly political, known to be on the progressive side of things.
“It just felt like an overnight flick of the fingers to become Australia’s Joe Rogan.”
Stefanovic’s free speech stand
The blocking episode lands not long after Stefanovic exited Nine immediately over his independent podcast, The Karl Stefanovic Show, which had published – then swiftly scrubbed – an interview with British far-right activist Tommy Robinson.
Nine confirmed on 26 June 2026 that Stefanovic would leave Today at once, with CEO Matt Stanton telling staff “it’s the right time for Karl to move on.”
Stefanovic has since hit back at Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who had warned against straying “further and further out on the edges of what is mainstream political debate.”
Speaking on his podcast with guest Piers Morgan, Stefanovic doubled down: “I think it’s important that I keep campaigning and I keep driving forward with freedom of speech.”
It’s a stance that makes Bretz’s blocking all the more pointed.
Main image: Karl Stefanovic and Henry Bretz