Karl Stefanovic will leave Nine after nearly two decades on the Today show, following a podcast interview with far-right British figure Tommy Robinson.
Nine chief executive Matt Stanton informed staff in an email on Friday that it was the "right time" for Stefanovic to move on, the Sydney Morning Herald — owned by Nine — reported.
"Karl has been a fixture on our screens for over two decades, so we know this is a significant change for our viewers and all of us here at Nine, however it’s the right time to make it," Stanton said in the email.
In a statement to SBS News, Nine said Stefanovic was already set to leave the network at the end of the year.
"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," a spokesperson told SBS News.
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"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."
Executives finalised the terms of his exit on Friday morning, ending his run as Australia's highest-paid television presenter.
It remains unclear whether Nine will pay out the estimated $1 million balance of his contract.
'I'm free'
On Friday morning, Stefanovic released a statement via a YouTube video, saying he was "free".
"I’m free. Truly independent. I didn’t get the chance to thank my free-to-air audience for 21 years, so thank you for riding the ups and downs," he said.
"It wasn’t easy, this last couple of days, but we rolled on. So here’s what I believe in: the public deserve to hear perspectives."
He said his show was all about "freedom of speech".
"On my show, I’ve spoken to people who have different perspectives — I know that winds some people up.
"Sometimes I agree with everything a guest says, sometimes I don’t. But importantly, you get to make up your mind."
"Freedom of speech — here and around the world — is what this show is about. You don’t have to listen to my show — you have the power."
Albanese: 'Words do matter'
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who has previously been a guest on Stefanovic's show, said the situation was "unfortunate" but that "words do matter".
"It’s a matter, of course, for Channel Nine, but words do matter, and what people who are very prominent in our public discourse do, and how they conduct themselves, matters as well," Albanese told ABC.
"It’s unfortunate — the way that what has been a very big career has ended in this way — but that’s a matter for Karl Stefanovic, to think about his actions and the decisions that he’s made. And Nine have made a consequential decision."
Stefanovic interviewed Robinson — a far-right anti-Islam activist who has been linked to violent anti-immigration riots in the UK — on his independent podcast, which launched in January and has featured guests including Pauline Hanson, Clive Palmer, and Albanese.
During the episode, Stefanovic introduced Robinson as "one of Britain's most controversial figures" and said he "admired" him for his "courage" to "stand up for what you believe is right".
A day after publication, the interview was taken down from Stefanovic's YouTube channel, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
The interview subsequently resurfaced on Hanson's YouTube channel, with "CANCELLED" added to the title, and later on Robinson's own channel.
Hanson, who has described Stefanovic as a "good friend", publicly offered Stefanovic a job, saying she was "looking for someone in my office".
Nine's director of news and current affairs Fiona Dear, in a separate email reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, pushed back on assertions the decision was a violation of freedom of speech, saying the network welcomed "open debate and challenging norms with constructive, balanced arguments".
— With additional reporting by Cheyne Anderson.
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