{"id":756653,"date":"2026-06-24T06:25:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T06:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/756653\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T06:25:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T06:25:14","slug":"karl-stefanovic-podcast-with-tommy-robinson-pulled-pauline-hanson-accuses-nine-of-trying-to-sack-presenter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/756653\/","title":{"rendered":"Karl Stefanovic podcast with Tommy Robinson pulled; Pauline Hanson accuses Nine of trying to sack presenter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Updated June 24, 2026 \u2014 2:53pm,first published June 24, 2026 \u2014 8:45am<\/p>\n

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Television presenter Karl Stefanovic\u2019s controversial podcast interview with British far-right anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson has been removed from YouTube<\/a>, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Instagram less than 12 hours after it debuted.<\/p>\n

The episode drew an angry backlash from the activist group Mad F—ing Witches, which said it would begin targeting Stefanovic in the same way its members successfully pursued companies running ads on shock jock Kyle Sandilands\u2019 show.<\/p>\n

But One Nation leader Pauline Hanson backed Stefanovic and posted the entire deleted podcast on her YouTube channel, while accusing Stefanovic\u2019s primary employer, Nine, of trying to sack the presenter over the interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looks like they\u2019re trying to sack my good friend Karl Stefanovic for this video with Tommy Robinson!\u201d she wrote on Instagram.<\/p>\n

Stefanovic, the host of Nine\u2019s Today show, has increasingly cast himself as a culture warrior. He told Robinson he admired his \u201ctenacity\u201d and \u201ccourage\u201d in \u201ctrying to stand up for what you believe is right\u201d, in an interview lasting almost an hour on Stefanovic\u2019s self-titled YouTube program. The pair discussed immigration, Islam and Australian politics.<\/p>\n

In a statement, a spokesman for Nine, which owns this masthead, emphasised that Stefanovic\u2019s show was produced independently of the network.<\/p>\n

\u201cNine has no involvement, including in the guest selection and other editorial processes,\u201d the spokesman said, but he added: \u201cHowever, Nine is taking this matter seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Wednesday morning, the Robinson episode was unavailable on YouTube, while Stefanovic\u2019s interview with another UK right-wing figure, former Special Forces soldier Ant Middleton, remains live.<\/p>\n

Sources familiar with the matter said the podcast episode was not removed by the tech platforms from which it disappeared, including YouTube and Apple Podcasts. Posts with short clips of the Robinson interview remain on Stefanovic\u2019s X account.<\/p>\n

Stefanovic, who is in on leave from Today in the United Kingdom, was contacted for comment. Keshnee Kemp, who describes herself as a founding partner of the podcast and serves as its producer, was also contacted for comment.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Karl<\/a><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, media company ARN, which has contracted Stefanovic for a weekly show on its Gold radio network with Eddie McGuire, distanced itself from the podcast.<\/p>\n

\u201cKarl\u2019s association with ARN is limited to specific radio engagements. His external media activities, including his podcast, are undertaken in a personal capacity and are entirely separate from the network, which we have no control over,\u201d a company spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey do not represent ARN\u2019s views, editorial standards or programming.\u201d<\/p>\n

The activist group Mad F—ing Witches, which ran a pressure campaign against companies that ran ads on Kyle Sandilands\u2019 radio show, announced on Wednesday that it would run a similar campaign against Nine, despite the removal of Stefanovic\u2019s podcast.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn fact, it makes us even angrier they seem to think we\u2019re so easily fooled and silenced,\u201d the group posted.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe truth is we\u2019re now even MORE determined to run such a campaign on Stefanovic (tentatively titled #KancelKarl), and we badly need your help if you want us to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robinson<\/a> is a former member of the fascist British National Party and co-founded the English Defence League, an anti-Islam movement that organised street demonstrations around Britain.<\/p>\n

The agitator has twice been forced to cancel speaking tours of Australia after being denied a visa. In 2019, supporters had paid up to $995 to see him alongside Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes and Milo Yiannopoulos \u2013 a former editor of Breitbart News \u2013 in five cities.<\/p>\n

Robinson has convictions for assault, mortgage fraud, using a false passport and contempt of court. He was jailed in October 2024 after he ignored a court order not to repeat lies about a Syrian refugee who had successfully sued him for libel.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"<\/a><\/p>\n

He has been condemned by several UK prime ministers, including Conservative Boris Johnson, who labelled him a \u201cfar-right thug\u201d who did \u201cnot represent the values of this country\u201d.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Stefanovic posted a video on X with One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce on the streets of London, announcing the former deputy prime minister would appear on the next episode of his show. The podcast will also feature Holly Valance, the former Neighbours star who has become a conservative influencer in the UK. Valance recently appeared at one of Robinson\u2019s rallies and voiced her support for Hanson.<\/p>\n

The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"KishorKishor Napier-Raman<\/a> is a senior business writer for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Previously he worked as a CBD columnist and reporter in the federal parliamentary press gallery.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.\"RobRob Harris<\/a> is the national correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age based in Canberra. He is a former Europe correspondent.Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Updated June 24, 2026 \u2014 2:53pm,first published June 24, 2026 \u2014 8:45am Save You have reached your maximum…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":756654,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-756653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/756653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=756653"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/756653\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/756654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=756653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=756653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=756653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}