Karl Stefanovic has hit back at Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after the prime minister suggested the broadcaster had strayed too far to the “edges of mainstream political debate,” telling his podcast audience: “I did an interview and he lied to the country and still has his job.”
Stefanovic made the comments during an introduction to his latest episode, recorded with Piers Morgan – his first interview since Nine Entertainment terminated his contract following his interview with Tommy Robinson.
The episode was recorded two hours after the announcement of his departure from Nine.
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The podcast
In the exchange with Morgan, Stefanovic said he told Nine he was leaving Today “two or three months ago.”
The interview took place on a yacht, where the pair bonded over both having been sacked from breakfast television.
Morgan left Good Morning Britain on ITV in 2021 following comments he made about Meghan Markle.
On his exit from Nine, Stefanovic said: “I can do whatever I want now, which is one of the side benefits of getting the a**.”
Morgan called the circumstances of the sacking “completely ridiculous.”
“The idea that an Australian, coming right across the world to analyse what’s going on in the UK right now, would interview someone like Tommy Robinson and be fired for doing that, I just find completely ridiculous,” he said.
Stefanovic defended his editorial choices on the podcast going forward. “I think it’s important that I keep campaigning and I keep driving forward with freedom of speech,” he said.
“If you don’t like the way I do an interview, then don’t watch it. It’s my style. It’s my show. And I want to feature guys like Tommy Robinson because I just want to find out what it is about them, you know.”
Albo’s original comments
Albanese did not name Stefanovic directly, but alluded to the podcast’s dramatic disappearance and its fallout with Nine while speaking at a Committee for Economic Development of Australia event at Parliament House.
According to The Guardian Australia, the Prime Minister said he would avoid the heated debate and speculation over the consequences for all parties, but issued a warning.
“Look at what’s happened,” Albanese said. “You go down that road, and you go further and further out on the edges of what is mainstream political debate in this country, and you know, I think that can have an impact.”
Nine Entertainment cut ties with Stefanovic, previously the highest-paid presenter on Australian television at $2.8 million annually, after his interview with Robinson, 43, whose real name is Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon.
Less than 24 hours after the episode aired, most evidence of the interview had vanished from the internet.
Robinson co-founded the English Defence League and has convictions for assault, mortgage fraud, using a false passport and contempt of court. He was jailed in October 2024 after ignoring a court order not to repeat lies about a Syrian refugee, who later sued him for defamation and won.