When Karl Stefanovic became co-host of the Today Show in 2005, he was told to just be himself.
He took this advice to heart and over the years it has helped him become one of the countryโs most beloved personalities.
โSomeone told me once when I started the Today show that thereโs nowhere to hide,โ Stefanovic told ABC in a 2021 interview.
โThere is not a single part of your personality that you can hide without the viewer talking about it after a certain time.
โSo just get it over with, leave it at that, move on and let them get to know you.โ
Show host Karl Stefanovic is leaving Channel Nine today, the network confirms
In a statement sent to media outlets on Friday morning, Nine Entertainment confirmed that Stefanovicโs 21-year tenure as host of the Today show has come to an end.
โNine Entertainment and Karl Stefanovic have agreed that he can no longer continue to host Today alongside his independent podcast,โ the statement said.
โAlthough Carl and Nine had previously agreed that he would leave Today at the end of this year, they subsequently decided that he would leave the Network immediately.โ
It was Stefanovicโs interview with Tommy Robinson, who is one of the most divisive anti-immigration voices in the United Kingdom and has a long track record, that led to him not getting stuck.
Stefanovic was also off the air on Friday of The Long Weekend, his new ARN radio show with Eddie McGuire.
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At the start of his Today Show appearance, Stefanovic was warned that it might take the public some time to get used to him due to his โ28 different personalities.โ
โI remember Tom Malone, my old EPโฆ he said to me, โMan, you have such an interesting, weird personality and so many personalities inside of you. You have to be yourself, but I think it will take a long time for the public to get to know you.โ
โAnd judging by the ratings, they havenโt gotten there yet.โ
Channel Nine audiences werenโt too happy with Stefanovicโs departure and took to the comments section of a post on the Today showโs official Instagram account to protest his sacking.
โBring back Karl.โ
โA sad day for free speech and what journalism should be.โ
โChannel 9 is the new ABC channel (thumbs down emoji)โ.
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Stefanovic lays claim to Logi
Stefanovic won the Golden Logie for Most Popular Personality in 2011 and the Silver Logie the same year for Most Popular Presenter.
He is up for the Ray Martin Award for Most Popular News or Public Affairs Presenter at the 2026 Logies.
This is a category voted for by fans, not a select group of industry experts.
On the Today show, it was hammered into the producersโ heads that the show should appeal to โKatie from Campbelltownโ.
Will Katie from Campbelltown be interested in this segment? Would Katie from Campbelltown want to hear about this or that?
The fictional Katie was the one watching the show โ a working mother on an average salary who had young children and lived a simple life โ an average Australian if you will.
Karl Stefanovichโs transition to outsider politics follows a well-trodden, profitable path
If he maintains public support, it wonโt be the first time Stefanovic has been resurrected โlike triple bypass Lazarus.โ
Come back baby
Stefanovic has already been dropped by Nine.
He went through a highly publicized divorce from his first wife, Cassandra Thorburn, which was finalized in October 2017.
During this period, he lost some of his golden boy shine and married Jasmine Yarbrough in December 2018.
He was suspended from the show in March that year after a leaked conversation with his brother Peter hit the media in what became known as โUbergateโ.
The brothers spoke out about their colleagues and management.
Karl Stefanovich talks with the Dalai Lama. (Delivered)
Stefanovic left briefly and returned in January 2020 after a ratings slump.
Stefanovic prides himself on being the same person off-air as he is on-air, but who is he really?
Since January, he has hosted the independent podcast The Karl Stefanovic Show, whose first 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 earning a $2.8 million salary at Nine.
His career has taken him across Australia and around the world, and he has rubbed shoulders with everyone from prime ministers and pop stars to the Dalai Lama.
In 2009, he arrived at work still drunk after a party at Logies.
Heโs no longer part of the Ninth family, but he might have a reason to have a drink or two at this yearโs ceremony.