If Karl Stefanovic thought he was eventually going to transition full time to 60 Minutes, it seems that dream is most likely over.
According to the Daily Telegraph’s Confidential column, Karl is now so on the nose at 60 Minutes that boss Kirsty Thomson has allegedly ditched many of Karl’s interviews from the program’s schedule. And that’s probably not surprising after New Idea exclusively revealed details of the star’s ‘bitchy’ comments about the show and other Nine assets during an overheard cab-ride conversation.
According to the paper, Thomson wants to get rid of Stefanovic, but she’s been held back from ‘boning’ him due to contractual agreements that require the show to run a certain number of Stefanovic stories a year. The contract is a leftover from the days when Karl was a management darling and could make any number of contractual and career demands.
‘Kristy is not happy. She really feels thrown under the bus by Karl. She doesn’t want him to be part of her show,’ the unnamed source apparently told Confidential.
It’s long been reported that Karl had hoped to transition fully to prime time, either via 60 Minutes or even by hosting A Current Affair. Industry insiders have been quoted as saying he is tired of the early mornings and longs for the big time.
But Karl must now be regretting his infamous conversation with brother Peter, in which the opinionated star detailed what was wrong with 60 Minutes, pointing out that ratings were down and apparently questioning the program’s decision making. He even lashed out at bosses during the rant.
‘He said they didn’t know anything and thinks they are out of touch,’ the cab driver told New Idea. ‘Both the brothers clearly think they are better than what they do and spent a lot of time complaining about others.’
Karl was widely slated last week after his 60 Minutes interview with Kylie Minogue, which was peppered with references to her age and attractiveness. Viewers of the program took to Twitter to slam Karl’s bizarre interviewing technique, labelling him ‘creepy’ and ‘misogynistic’.
