Karl Stefanovic pulls out of Friday ARN radio show as backlash over interview with extremist activist spreads

Television broadcaster Karl Stefanovic has pulled out of a scheduled radio appearance with fellow celebrity Eddie McGuire after being subjected to a torrent of criticism over a podcast interview with a right-wing British political activist.

An ARN Media source said the 51-year-old made the decision to withdraw from Friday’s episode of the Long Weekend with Karl & Eddie show, a new show on the Gold network broadcast at noon on Fridays.

Stefanovic, who could not be reached for comment, has not been fired from the show and will hold discussions with ARN about whether the program will continue, the source said. A source close to McGuire said: “It’s probably heading that way but 24 hours to go. At some stage it will happen.”

The Mad F---ing Witches activist group, which claimed credit for forcing Stefanovic out of the Today show, said it would wait for confirmation on whether the radio show on Gold will be cancelled before deciding whether to campaign for an advertiser boycott, a step that could be highly damaging for ARN.

“It’s a real 50/50 at this stage,” a spokeswoman said. “We don’t want to continue the campaign but a lot of followers do.”

The radio show is also made available to listeners through Nine’s 9NOW online digital service.

‘Share a laugh’

ARN executives want to talk to Stefanovic about whether he intends to use his separate podcast, the Karl Stefanovic Show, to become a conservative political commentator and interviewer, a position that might conflict with the light-hearted conversation style of the radio show, the company source said.

A promotional blurb for the show says: “Join Karl and Eddie for GOLD’s Long Weekend as they unpack the biggest news stories of the week, preview the weekend ahead, share a laugh, play great songs, and swap a story …or twenty!”

The Long Weekend is part of a plan by ARN to rebuild ratings after the high-profile Kyle and Jackie O show was cancelled because of a fight between hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie Henderson.

One of the risks to ARN is a campaign by Mad F---ing Witches, which targets media outlets that employ journalists it perceives as sexist, to convince advertisers to boycott Gold and other ARN stations over Stefanovic’s appearance. ARN shares have fallen 39 per cent this year, giving the home of Gold FM, KISS and iHeart, a market value of $78 million.

Mad F---ing Witches has previously targeted the company over comments by Sandilands it said were derogatory towards women.

The group also pursued Nine over podcast interviews by Stefanovic with British anti-immigration activist Tommy Robinson and comments supportive of Ben Roberts-Smith, the former soldier charged with five counts of the war crime of murder. Mr Roberts-Smith has vowed to plead not guilty.

Stefanovic was told this week by Nine executives they want him to step down as host of Nine’s morning Today show and end his employment with the network, according to a Wednesday evening report in Nine’s newspapers. A Nine spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

Even Anthony Albanese became involved. The prime minister suggested Stefanovic’s friendly interview with British anti-immigration activist Tommy Robinson was an example of media content that could contribute to extremist political views.

“I don’t want to get into a debate about Nine at the moment, but you know, look at what’s happening,” he said at a conference in Canberra. “You go down that road and you get further and further out on the edges of what is the mainstream political debate in this country, and you know, I think that that can have an impact.”