Karl Stefanovic podcast with Tommy Robinson pulled from YouTube, Instagram, Spotify and Apple Podcasts
Updated ,first published
Television presenter Karl Stefanovic’s controversial podcast interview with British far-right anti-Islamic activist Tommy Robinson has been removed from YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Instagram less than 12 hours after it was published.
But One Nation leader Pauline Hanson posted the entire podcast, which was later deleted, on her YouTube channel and accused Stefanovic’s employer, Nine, of trying to oust the presenter during the interview.
“Looks like they’re trying to fire my good friend Karl Stefanovic for this video with Tommy Robinson!” he wrote on Instagram.
Nine’s Today presenter Stefanovic, who has increasingly described himself as a culture warrior, told Robinson that he admired her “tenacity” and “courage” in “trying to defend what you believe is right” in an almost hour-long interview on Stefanovic’s self-titled YouTube show, in which the pair discussed immigration, Islam and Australian politics.
While the episode was not broadcast on YouTube on Wednesday morning, Stefanovic’s interview with another right-wing figure in the UK, former Special Forces soldier Ant Middleton, remains available. It is not yet known why the Robinson podcast was removed or who decided to remove it, but sources close to the matter said that the podcast was not removed by technology platforms. Posts containing short clips of the Robinson interview continue to appear on Stefanovic’s X account.
Nine said it had nothing to do with Stefanovic’s podcast. “The Karl Stefanovic Show is a completely independent production. Nine has no involvement, including guest selection and other editorial processes,” a spokesman said.
Stefanovic, who was not on Nine’s screens on Wednesday and is in the UK, has been contacted for comment. Nine is the publisher of this imprint.
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Kishor Napier-Raman is senior business writer for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. He previously worked as a CBD columnist and reporter in the federal parliament press gallery.Connect with: X or email.
Rob Harris is a national correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based in Canberra. He is a former European correspondent.Connect via email.
