In a video posted to – and since deleted from - social media, Karl Stefanovic is seen slinging his arm around the shoulders of far-right activist, Tommy Robinson. Photograph: The Karl Stefanovic Show/Facebook View image in fullscreen In a video posted to – and since deleted from - social media, Karl Stefanovic is seen slinging his arm around the shoulders of far-right activist, Tommy Robinson. Photograph: The Karl Stefanovic Show/Facebook Nine Entertainment Nine considers Karl Stefanovic’s future after podcast with UK far-right activist Tommy Robinson Company says it is taking the matter seriously after Today show host filmed himself walking down a London street with his arm slung around Robinson
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Prefer the Guardian on Google 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.
But by Wednesday morning, the Robinson interview had been removed from the YouTube channel, 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.
Read more On YouTube, the previous working link to the interview 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 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.”
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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 $2.8m annually.
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 y...