Karl Stefanovic fought back tears as he opened up about the toll his recent sacking has taken on his family in an emotional new interview with Piers Morgan.
Morgan asked Stefanovic: “Have you felt emotional since (being fired from Today)?”
“Just when I was thinking about my um just my wife,” Stefanovic replied, his voice shaking.
“Because she puts up with a lot and it’s not you know her finding out this stuff and having to deal with me because I’m a lot and I’m in the public eye a lot and I really do work hard and I’m away a bit and she knows what I’m trying to do with this podcast so I’m doing that and that and some radio and it’s like I’m doing it all for the family but she’s on her own a lot and and for me you know to hear her upset is it was the hardest thing.”
The interview was released on The Karl Stefanovic Show just hours after reports emerged that he had lost his radio role alongside Eddie McGuire, and a week after he was axed from the Today show following controversy surrounding his podcast interview with Tommy Robinson.
However, the podcast appears to have been recorded only hours after Stefanovic was dismissed from Today.
“Are we just going to pretend that we are going to now do the interview we were going to do where you were going to interview me about life after morning shows?” Morgan asked.
“Because it does seem a bit ridiculous Karl because literally in the last few hours you’ve just been fired. What has happened?”
Despite his axing, Stefanovic insisted he was optimistic about the future.
“We’re just getting started. There’s a lot to do. I’m committed and I can’t wait to bring you these interviews. My first with Pierce Morgan,” he said in the opening of the episode.
“I can do whatever I want now. Which is one of the side benefits of getting the ass.
“It’s upsetting for me because it’s painful because I love Australia and to have it kind of end like that is, you know, I’m not going to stop, you know, and I’m not going to roll up in a ball on the side of the f***ing highway.”
Morgan encouraged Stefanovic’s move to pursue his personal podcast.
“You can build this into something massive you could be the biggest interviewer media star in Australia without ever being on actual television... you should really put the foot on the pedal now with what you’re doing here and become the biggest,” he said.
Stefanovic also defended his decision to interview Robinson, saying it was a legitimate editorial choice.
“I thought Tommy Robinson was a legitimate interview for us to pick up the what’s happening on the right, what’s happening on the streets,” he said.
“And we did it and you know I put it up on air and then a couple of days later boom.
“I will get up and I’ll get things done and we’ll move on... we roll on and we have to roll on. I think it’s important that I keep campaigning and I keep driving forward with freedom of speech.
“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.”
Stefanovic also admitted he was saddened he never had the chance to farewell his Today colleagues on air.
“I’ve worked there for 21 years. I’ve had the most wonderful experience with awesome people there and I’ve worked with some of the best people,” he said.
“I’ve had a lot of co-hosts. I don’t get to say on air goodbyes to you know Sarah’s one of my dearest friends, my co-host, I love her so much.”
When asked if Channel 9 planned to honour the rest of Stefanovic’s contract, he said “were working that out”.
Stefanovic also said he would “prefer to” end things with the TV station “amicably”.
“I’m already saying that I don’t want this to define me in any way. I don’t want it to to be so present in my life that I’m consumed by bitterness and anger,” he added.
Earlier on Wednesday, it was reported ARN had dumped the embattled broadcaster from his radio hosting role.
Stefanovic had been co-hosting The Long Weekend alongside Eddie McGuire, a weekly Friday program on Pure Gold.
According to reports by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian Financial Review, Stefanovic is not expected to return. His contract was reportedly worth about $200,000 for the remainder of the year, with McGuire expected to continue hosting the program, potentially in a revamped format.
The pair had recorded just two episodes before Stefanovic’s absence last week amid the fallout from his widely criticised interview with Tommy Robinson.
Stefanovic featured Robinson on The Karl Stefanovic Show, the independent podcast he launched earlier this year, separate from his role as host of Nine’s Today program.
The interview attracted widespread criticism over Stefanovic’s treatment of Robinson, a far-right British anti-immigration activist with multiple criminal convictions. During the hour-long conversation, Stefanovic embraced Robinson and told him he admired his “courage” and “tenacity”.
After several days of controversy, Stefanovic and Nine agreed to end his more than two-decade tenure with the network, effective immediately.
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