LONDON, UK. — Activist group Mad Fucking Witches is claiming victory over Karl Stefanovic, with the Nine-employed presenter taking down a controversial interview with far-right UK figure and convicted criminal Tommy Robinson (real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon).
Stefanovic’s interview with Robinson went live on his eponymous independent podcast on Tuesday and was taken down less than 12 hours later.
“The Karl Stefanovic Show is a completely independent production. Nine has no involvement, including in the guest selection and other editorial processes. However, Nine is taking this matter seriously,” a spokesperson for Nine said.
Stefanovic, who is on leave from Today, filmed himself walking down a London street with his arm slung around Robinson, who has spearheaded recent nationalist demonstrations in the UK, The Guardian reported.
In a post to X on Wednesday morning, the MFW declared it would target Nine and Stefanovic with a campaign titled “#KancelKarl”. It called on supporters to donate and boycott Nine, and claimed Nine was “scared”.
“They KNOW Stefanovic is turning into (or at least now willing to display) his hateful views to all, but don’t want their breakfast show advertisers targeted.”
“Well, they should have fucking thought of that earlier,” ran the post.
“The truth is we’re now even MORE determined to run such a campaign on Stefanovic.”
Channel Nine has good reason to fear angering the witches.
The group’s most recent campaign targeted ARN’s now cancelled Kyle & Jackie O Show, where sustained pressure on advertisers — including direct outreach and public callouts — coincided with a significant pullback in ad spend.
This year, ARN said it had lost $26 million in advertising revenue linked to the fallout and cancellation of the show.
Robinson has been banned from major social media platforms for breaching hate speech policies, and has a substantial criminal record, including for assault, fraud and contempt of court.
At one point in the interview, Stefanovic tells Robinson, “God, I love you.”
Earlier in the conversation, Robinson declared his own “love” for One Nation’s Pauline Hanson.
“She’s one of the only people who spoke up for me from that side of the world,” he said.
Robinson compared the rise of One Nation to his own journey, explaining that staying afloat against nationwide criticism “is not easy”.
“I’m a man, it’s not easy. So, for a woman, the amount of slander, the amount of horrible, disgusting things she’s had said about her. She’s just carried on fighting.”
The interview was reposted to One Nation’s official YouTube account on Wednesday morning, titled “CANCELLED: The Full Karl Stefanovic and Tommy Robinson Interview.”
“It looks like they’re trying to sack my good friend Karl Stefanovic for this video with Tommy Robinson!” the caption read.
Nine Entertainment executives are currently meeting to consider the future of Channel Nine’s highest-paid presenter, Karl Stefanovic, after the Today show co-host published and then quickly deleted his far-right podcast with neo-Nazi Tommy Robinson and the activist group Mad Fucking Witches launched their ‘#KancelKarl’ campaign.
