Do we like Karl Stefanovic?
Our score: 3 out of 10. A long run as a decent charity face and an earnest apology, set against a 2026 run of platforming far-right and conspiracy-friendly guests.
For two decades Stefanovic was the cheeky, boyish face of Nine's Today show, taking over the chair in 2005 after starting out in regional and New Zealand news. He was the highest-paid presenter in the country, reportedly on almost $3 million a year, and the larger-than-life brekkie bloke that half the nation either loved or switched off.
The big story is June 2026. His independent podcast ran an interview with Tommy Robinson, a British anti-Islam activist with criminal convictions who has been banned from several social media platforms. Stefanovic introduced him as one of Britain's most controversial figures, then told him he admired his “tenacity and the courage” in standing up for what he believes. The episode vanished from the podcast's channels in under a day, and Nine said it was “taking this matter seriously”, though it stressed that the show was an independent production.
Within days he was out of Today after 21 years, with Nine's statement saying he would leave immediately instead of at the end of the year. Reports differ on whether it was mutual or a push, and the exit terms haven't been made public. A radio show with Eddie McGuire was also reportedly dropped soon after.
Then he picked a fight with the Prime Minister. Anthony Albanese, without naming him, warned about drifting out to the edges of mainstream debate, and Stefanovic answered on his podcast that he would keep campaigning on free speech. His line was “If you don't like the way I do an interview, then don't watch it.” Where you land depends on whether you see journalism that talks to anyone, or an unchallenged platform for a man who says hateful things.
On the harm check, there's no campaign against LGBTQ+ people, women or the planet in his own words that we found, and we found nothing on climate or vaccines. The worry is the company: he launched the podcast with One Nation's Pauline Hanson and has hosted vaccine sceptic Pete Evans, as well as Robinson. That's a pattern of choosing guests who push harm, not words of his own. In 2016 he repeatedly used a slur for trans women on Today, then apologised on air the next day for crossing a line.
The good-person side is better. He has long been a fundraising workhorse as an emcee and auctioneer, including a 2022 Brisbane dinner for melanoma research that raised about $290,000. In October 2026 he settled a dispute with his podcast's former co-owner and producer, who had called his attempt to remove her as director “oppressive”; the terms are confidential.