When Karl Stefanovic landed the Today Show co-hosting gig in 2005, he was told to just be himself.
It was advice he took to heart and over the years, it would help him rise to become one of the country’s most beloved personalities.
“Someone told me once when I started the Today show, there’s no room to hide,” Stefanovic told the ABC in a 2021 interview.
“There’s not one single part of your personality you can hide without the viewer telling after a certain amount of time.
“So just be done with it and let it be and get on with it and let them get to know you.”
In a statement from Nine Entertainment sent to the media on Friday morning, it was confirmed that Stefanovic’s 21-year tenure as a host of the Today show had come to an end.
“Nine Entertainment and Karl Stefanovic have agreed that it is no longer possible for him to continue hosting Today at the same time as his independent podcast,” the statement read.
“While Karl and Nine had previously agreed he would leave Today at the end of this year, they have subsequently decided he will leave the Network immediately.”
It was Stefanovic’s interview with Tommy Robinson, who is one of the most divisive anti-immigration voices in the United Kingdom, and has a long rap sheet, that resulted in him coming unstuck.
Stefanovic was also not on air on Friday for The Long Weekend, his new ARN radio show with Eddie McGuire.
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Early on in his Today Show years, Stefanovic was warned it might take some time for the audience to get used to him due to his “28 different personalities”.
“I remember Tom Malone, an old EP of mine … he said to me, ‘Man, you have such an interesting, weird personality and so many personalities inside of you. You’ve got to be yourself, but I think it’s going to take the public a long time to get to know you.’
“And judging by the ratings, they haven’t quite got there yet.”
Members of the Channel Nine audience aren’t too happy about Stefanovic’s departure, taking to the comments section on a post on the Today show’s official Instagram account to fume over his axing.
“Bring Karl Back”.
“Sad day for free speech and what journalism should be all about”.
“Channel 9 are the new ABC [thumbs down emoji]”.
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Stefanovic in contention for Logie
Stefanovic won a Gold Logie for Most Popular Personality in 2011, and a Silver Logie the same year for Most Popular Presenter.
He’s up for the Ray Martin Award for Most Popular News or Public Affairs Presenter at the 2026 Logies.
It is a category voted on by fans rather than a select group of industry experts.
At the Today show, it was drummed into the minds of producers that the show needed to appeal to “Cathy from Campbelltown”.
Would Cathy from Campbelltown be interested in this segment? Would Cathy from Campbelltown want to hear about this or that?
The fictional Cathy was someone who watched the show — a working mother on an average salary who had young kids and lived a simple life — the average Australian if you will.
If he maintains support from the audience, it wouldn’t be the first time Stefanovic was resurrected “like Lazarus with a triple bypass”.
The comeback kid
Stefanovic has been dumped by Nine before.
He went through a highly publicised divorce with his first wife Cassandra Thorburn, which finalised in October 2017.
He lost some of his golden boy lustre during that period and went on to marry Jasmine Yarbrough in December 2018.
He’d been removed from the show in March that year after a leaked conversation with his brother Peter found its way to the media in what has been dubbed “Ubergate”.
The brothers had been venting about colleagues and management.
Karl Stefanovic speaks with the Dalai Lama. (Supplied)
Stefanovic wasn’t gone for long, returning in January 2020 after plummeting ratings.
Stefanovic prides himself as being the same person off air as he is on air, but who is that, really?
Since January, he has been hosting The Karl Stefanovic Show, an independent podcast on which his inaugural guest was One Nation leader Pauline Hanson.
He went from earning $150 a week as a WIN TV cadet at the start of his career to being reportedly on a salary of $2.8 million at Nine.
His career has taken him across Australia and around the world, and he’s mixed with everyone from prime ministers and pop stars to the Dalai Lama.
In 2009, he showed up to work still drunk after a night out at the Logies.
He’s no longer part of the Nine family, but there may be reason for him to have a drink or two at this year’s ceremony.
