RESURFACED PAULINE HANSON CLASH COMES BACK TO HAUNT KARL STEFANOVIC: OLD TODAY SHOW SEGMENT REIGNITES QUESTIONS ABOUT WHETHER HIS P0LITICAL VIEWS EVER FIT CHANNEL NINE
A controversial segment that aired on the Today show in 2020 has re-emerged amid news that Karl Stefanovic has been dropped from Channel Nine.
The interview, featuring One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, sparked outrage over the right-wing politician’s comments about Melbourne housing commission residents.
Nine swiftly dropped Hanson from the program following the segment, hinting at the network’s desire to move away from right-wing talking points.
Hanson had slammed those trapped inside nine housing commission towers during the pandemic lockdowns as ‘drug addicts’ who should have learned English before coming to Australia.
‘Oh come on, we’ve seen food being delivered there. The fact is a lot of them are drug addicts as well, they are getting their medication, they are alcoholics so they’re being looked after in that way,’ Hanson said.
‘A lot of these people are from non-English speaking backgrounds, probably English is their second language, who haven’t adhered to the rules of social distancing,’ she continued.
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A controversial segment that aired on the Today show in 2020 has re-emerged amid news that Karl Stefanovic (pictured) has been dropped from Channel Nine
‘So the fact is you’ve got to look at why they are in that situation. Why is it they are in that situation? Why has the Government gone to this high-rise building and shut it down? Possibly because a lot of these people weren’t doing the right thing.’
The segment attracted widespread condemnation from viewers, with Nine dropping Hanson from future broadcasts.
‘The Today show has advised Pauline Hanson that she will no longer be appearing on our program as a regular contributor,’ Nine’s Director of News and Current Affairs Darren Wick said in a statement at the time.
‘We don’t shy away from diverse opinions and robust debate on the Today show. But this morning’s accusations from Pauline Hanson were ill-informed and divisive.
‘At a time of uncertainty in this national and global health crisis, Australians have to be united and supportive of one another. We need to get through this together.’
The move may provide clues as to Nine’s reluctance to align with Stefanovic’s increasingly right-wing bent, which culminated this week in his axing from the network.
Stefanovic has been dropped by Channel Nine amid the fallout from his controversial interview with Tommy Robinson.
The Today show star uploaded a controversial chat with the British far-right activist to his YouTube channel podcast, The Karl Stefanovic Show, on Tuesday, only to delete it a short time later after facing widespread backlash.
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The interview, featuring One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, sparked outrage over the right-wing politician’s comments about Melbourne housing commission residents. Pictured left: Pauline Hanson. Pictured right: Former Today host Ally Langdon
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Stefanovic has been dropped by Channel Nine amid the fallout from his controversial interview with Tommy Robinson (left)
On Wednesday evening, The Sydney Morning Herald confirmed Stefanovic’s departure from Nine, indicating the decision was made in part to ‘defuse a major advertiser boycott.’
Stefanovic, who is currently on two weeks’ leave in London, was told the network ‘wanted to part ways’ on Wednesday evening.
The Australian had earlier reported that Stefanovic has ‘almost certainly’ appeared on the breakfast show for the last time.
A source told the Daily Mail on Wednesday evening that Stefanovic was indeed ‘gone’.
The network was huddled in ’11th hour closed-door meetings’ in Sydney on Wednesday to determine his exit from the station.
The TV star, who has been a Nine stalwart for some 25 years, has six months and over $1 million left to be paid on his current 12-month contract.
Stefanovic – who has been branded ‘Joe Bogan’ thanks to his attempts at replicating the success of Joe Rogan’s podcast – has sparked controversy with his parade of right-wing guests, including Holly Valance, Tommy Robinson and Barnaby Joyce.
SOURCE: https://www.dailymail.com/tvshowbiz/article-15925865/Pauline-Hanson-Karl-Stefanovic-Today-axed.html
