Karl Stefanovic’s Tommy Robinson podcast deleted after release as Pauline Hanson republishes interview

Karl Stefanovic’s most controversial podcast yet vanished from the internet within hours of publication, only to be resurrected by Pauline Hanson.

The Today host’s interview with British anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson was scrubbed from Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube and social media less than a day after it aired, with no explanation offered to viewers.

But while the episode disappeared from Stefanovic’s own channels, it quickly found a new home on the YouTube account of One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, who was repeatedly praised throughout the interview.

The republished video was uploaded under the title: “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 video’s caption read.

“Deb Knight was a huge flop for Channel 9 and while she was busy grilling me over One Nation’s polling Channel 9’s ratings were in the toilet.

“In 2019 on live TV with her, I called on Channel 9 to bring back Karl. Now with 6 months to go on his contract the weak management of Channel 9 want to sack Karl over this interview.

“Tommy Robinson has a lesson for Australians. If we don’t learn from the UK’s mistakes on immigration and radical Islam, we are going to face the same destruction.

“This is exactly what Karl was trying to bring to Australia’s attention.”

The removal came after Stefanovic drew criticism for his friendly and largely unchallenging conversation with Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.

During the 55-minute interview, Robinson declared he “loves” Senator Hanson and predicted Australia was heading down a similar political path to Britain.

Stefanovic repeatedly complimented the British activist, describing him as “fascinating” and suggesting some of Senator Hanson’s ideas were gaining traction with mainstream voters.

When Robinson outlined his political priorities, saying, “We all believe in free speech, we’re against mass migration, we’re against Islam, we’re a Christian nation and we’re against LGBTQ indoctrination of children,” Stefanovic did not challenge the claims and instead turned the discussion to how such views could translate into electoral success.

Robinson said he hoped to mobilise non-voters across Britain.

“I want to go into the roughest areas of Britain, the working class communities … captivate them, re-energise them and make them believe they matter and that will cause a f...ing earthquake,” he said.

Stefanovic responded: “Well, why not. This is a great country and it’s just so lost.”

Later, Robinson lavished praise on Hanson.

“I love Pauline,” Robinson said.

“She spoke up for me. She’s literally one of the only people who spoke up for me from that side of the world. Looking at her rise, do you know how happy I am for her.

“She’s been through what I went through. She’s been condemned, attacked, battered, called every name under the sun. It’s not easy. For a woman, the amount of horrible, disgusting things said about her.”

Stefanovic replied that “main political parties (in Australia are) using some of her policy and they’re catching fire in the electorate”.

The interview had initially been promoted heavily by Stefanovic on social media.

“What happens when speaking your mind comes at a cost? Now live on the show, Tommy Robinson shares his story, chatting all about free speech, censorship, immigration and the direction he believes Britain should be heading in,” Stefanovic wrote on X alongside a clip of the interview.

Hours earlier, he had billed Robinson as “the ultimate disruptor” and “a voice for the people”.

One clip from the interview showed Stefanovic walking alongside Robinson in Britain.

“Can I ask you a question?” Robinson said, before asking Stefanovic to fill in the blank.

“Keir Starmer is a..?”

“W...er,” Stefanovic replied, as the pair laughed.

By Wednesday morning, the interview had disappeared entirely from the Karl Stefanovic Show’s YouTube channel, Spotify and Apple Podcasts accounts. The latest available episode was instead an interview with former SAS soldier Ant Middleton.

There was no public explanation for the removal and no acknowledgement of the decision on the podcast’s social media pages.

Robinson remains one of Britain’s most polarising political figures. The founder of the English Defence League has built a significant following through campaigns against what he describes as Islamist extremism and mass migration, while attracting fierce criticism from opponents.

Over the years he has accumulated multiple criminal convictions, including for assault, fraud and contempt of court. He was also briefly a member of the British National Party in the early 2000s and has been associated with protests that attracted allegations of extremist behaviour.

The backlash was swift.

“Are you going to have Thomas Sewell on next? How far into the sewer are you willing to go,” one social media user wrote.

“Wow, you’ve really hit an all-time low. I can’t believe I used to respect you,” another said.

“No one has been asking for this,” a third added.

The controversy marks the latest flashpoint for Stefanovic’s podcast, which launched five months ago and has featured guests including Pauline Hanson, Pete Evans, Clive Palmer and manosphere personality Big Chokky.