Just a week ago, his colleagues were congratulating him on his commitment ceremony with Jasmine Yarbrough but it was a very different atmosphere on the set of Today on Monday morning.
As details of a private conversation he had with his brother Peter Stefanovic are finally published, Karl Stefanovic had to face the music and return to co-hosting the Today show after a week off on an assignment with 60 Minutes alongside the very person whom he has bad-mouthed – his co-host Georgie Gardner.
The pair didn’t address the scandal on air but at one point, a frosty Georgie took a stab at Karl labelling him “pathetic.”
Chatting in a segment about a sausage dog parade in London, Georgie teased Karl for being scared of that particular breed.
“Karl was apparently savaged by a sausage dog as a child and he never quite recovered. He’s still quite traumatised by it and chooses not to watch this vision,” she said.
You can watch the awkward run-in in the player above!
You could cut the tension with a knife on this morning’s episode of Today.
“You’ve got to face your fears, Karl,” news anchor Deb Knight reassured him.
“That’s coming up, don’t you worry about that,” Georgie cryptically fired back.
After Georgie called Dachshunds “menacing,” Karl noted that he could “sense a little sarcasm in your voice.”
To which Georgie retorted: “Well, it’s probably about now I should call you pathetic.”
Ouch!
It’s little wonder Georgie, 46, wasn’t in the mood for light-hearted banter. This morning, Georgie and Karl awoke to a local publication publishing scathing details from a 45-minute phone conversation between Peter and Karl Stefanovic.
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Details of Karl and Peter Stefanovic’s Uber phone call
The Uber driver claims he didn’t illegally record the brother’s phone call and there is in fact, no recording.
Instead, he shared his detailed account of the private conversation, which he claims to have overheard while driving Peter and his wife Sylvia Jeffreys home.
The driver alleges Karl complained to Peter about his new Today co-host Georgie, saying she needs to “step up” if she “wanted to stay on the show.”
The Nine star also apparently vented that Georgie “didn’t have enough opinions” and accused her of “sitting on the fence.”
Karl also took aim at the show’s veteran entertainment reporter Richard Wilkins, claiming he “kept all the entertainment contacts close to his chest.”
The 43-year-old also said the Nine bosses were “out of touch” and “didn’t know anything.”
Meanwhile Karl’s younger brother Peter, 36, who works for 60 Minutes and Today Weekend, complained that his roles were “sucking the life out of him.”
The Uber driver in questions says Karl criticised Georgie for “sitting on the fence.”
Peter and Karl Stefanovic’s apology
On Sunday, the brothers issued a preemptive apology as they geared up for the explosive story to hit newsstands on Monday morning.
“We talk a hundred times a day and hardly ever about work,” Karl told the Sunday Telegraph.
“But we did, and the conversation was recorded. And we are sorry. I was angry with myself at first that I could be so stupid. Pete and I were guilty of having a spray after a Sunday BBQ.”
“For the record Georgie Gardner is killing it as well. She’s the best thing to happen to the show in years. She’s hungry, she’s working hard and making the show better every day. I love working with her. Anyone says differently, they don’t know.”
“Ps. I’ll be taking cabs from now on,” he joked.
While Peter added: “I did a silly thing and feel awful for any embarrassment I’ve brought to my (Channel 9) colleagues, who I deeply respect.”
“I have spoken directly to the people involved and have offered my sincerest apologies as I have been raised to do. Do something wrong, apologise, and try to move on.
“It is embarrassing to not only get myself into this situation but also my big brother, and the network.”
“There’s nothing quite like having all your insecurities out there for people to see and read.
“I am now investing in a hands free ear piece, and I gave the driver one star – but only because you can’t give a zero,” Peter concluded.
How does Georgie Gardner feel?
A Nine source tell Woman’s Day that Georgie is “pissed off” and the network were in were crisis meetings about it last week, with Nine executives in damage control.”
“She’s furious. She made it clear when she came back to Today, she wasn’t going to put up with Karl’s antics,” the insider explains.
