The BRAG Media

optional screen reader

Switch edition between ANZ Edition U.S. Edition
The BRAG Media

Karl Stefanovic’s Interview With Tommy Robinson Removed After Less Than a Day

By
Lauren McNamara
Karl Stefanovic's Interview With Tommy Robinson
The Karl Stefanovic Show

Karl Stefanovic’s podcast interview with anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson has been removed, less than a day after it aired.

In the episode of “The Karl Stefanovic Show,” Robinson claimed an uprising is in progress in Australia, declared he “loves” Pauline Hanson and declares he’s causing a “f***ing earthquake” in the UK.

Robinson, 43, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon was a member of the neo-Nazi-adjacent British National Party (BNP) in the early 2000s and has a lengthy criminal record. The activist helped found the English Defence League, an anti-Islam movement that’s organised street demonstrations across Britain. He has convictions for assault, mortgage fraud, using a false passport and contempt of court, when he was jailed in October 2024 after he ignored a court order not to repeat lies about a Syrian refugee, who sued him for libel and won.

Robinson attracted further attention in recent weeks following unrest in Northern Ireland, where he shared graphic footage online after a stabbing attack in Belfast allegedly carried out by a Sudanese-born suspect and subsequently promoted demonstrations that later descended into violence, including attacks on migrants and the burning of homes.

On Wednesday morning, less than 12 hours after it debuted, the interview with Stefanovic became unavailable on YouTube and the other platforms such as Apple podcasts on which it’s usually distributed. No reason was given for the disappearance, and Mediaweek has reached out to Stefanovic’s representative for comment. Stefanovic had promoted the interview on his X account on Tuesday night.

“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 captioned a 39-second clip of the interview.

In the clip, Stefanovic places his arm around Robinson. “Can I ask you a question?” Robinson asks him. “Keir Starmer is a..?”

“W***er,” says Stefanovic, as the pair laugh loudly together.

Robinson took the opportunity to espouse his ‘values’. “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,” he said.

He added wants to “reach the 50 per cent of non voters and register them to vote”. “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’s response was: “Well, why not. This is a great country and it’s just so lost.”

“I love Pauline,” Robinson also said at on stage, referring to the One Nation leader. “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.”

Making his support clear, Stefanovic noted during the interview that authorities “want to eliminate your voice” and told Robinson, “I can’t believe you’re alive.”

Today, Hanson has come to Stefanovic’s defence in an X post, going as far as to accuse the Today co-host’s employer, Nine, as “trying to sack” him – based on her inference that the podcast has been deleted to cast aspersions on her “good friend”.

Stefanovic’s podcast launched five months ago. He’s interviewed other controversial identities including Hanson, celebrity chef Pete Evans, and billionaire Clive Palmer.

From Mediaweek

optional screen reader