Lisa Wilkinson has responded to Karl Stefanovic’s departure from Nine with a brief but telling remark. Her words appeared humorous, but they also reopened the story of her own difficult exit from the network eight years earlier.
Lisa Wilkinson has responded to the departure of her former Today co-host Karl Stefanovic by sharing a satirical comedy video that also brought renewed attention to the circumstances surrounding her own exit from Channel Nine.
The 66-year-old television presenter reposted comedian Henry Bretz’s impersonation of Stefanovic on Instagram before adding a brief personal remark referencing her departure from the network in 2017.
Lisa Wilkinson shares satirical Karl Stefanovic clip
In the video, Bretz impersonated Stefanovic while questioning why Wilkinson had not been dismissed for repeatedly speaking about women’s issues.
Wilkinson praised the performance, writing:
“This is hilarious. The brilliant @henry__bretz.”
She then added a correction of her own:
“Hey, hang on, I WAS fired for going on with all that ‘women’s s**t’…”
Although delivered humorously, her comment appeared to refer to the widely reported circumstances surrounding the end of her decade-long tenure alongside Stefanovic on Today.
Karl Stefanovic departs Channel Nine
Stefanovic left Nine following criticism over an interview with British far-right activist Tommy Robinson for The Karl Stefanovic Show podcast.
The interview was uploaded to YouTube before being removed several hours later.
According to the original report, Nine said Stefanovic could not continue working for the network while independently hosting the podcast.
His departure brought an end to a relationship with the broadcaster spanning approximately 25 years.
Stefanovic reportedly had around six months remaining on his contract.
He and Nine were also believed to have reached a confidential financial settlement, although the terms have not been publicly confirmed.
Wilkinson’s departure followed reported pay negotiations
Wilkinson left Today in October 2017 amid negotiations concerning a reported pay disparity between her and Stefanovic.
Media reports at the time claimed Stefanovic was earning considerably more than his co-host.
However, the full contractual arrangements were never publicly disclosed.
Wilkinson has previously said she felt “humiliated” after being told her time at Nine and Today had ended.
She recalled learning the news through her agent while standing in a supermarket aisle holding a can of tuna.
“I felt stupid and humiliated and betrayed… and pretty pathetic,” she said.
Wilkinson also claimed Nine was unaware that she had received an offer from Channel 10 while the reported gender pay negotiations were taking place.
Lisa described herself as “very expendable”
When later asked about the scale of the reported pay difference, Wilkinson said:
“Doesn’t get much bigger than the gap that I experienced. I was very expendable.”
She also said she was not given an opportunity to farewell the Today audience before leaving the program.
Wilkinson subsequently joined Network 10’s The Sunday Project in 2018.
A brief reunion before the latest development
Despite previously acknowledging that she was no longer regularly in contact with Stefanovic, Wilkinson returned to the Today studio earlier this year for a one-off appearance alongside Stefanovic and Sarah Abo.
The visit marked her first return to the program in almost nine years and was arranged to promote her book, The Titanic Story of Evelyn.
Her latest Instagram comment was brief and humorous, but it also highlighted the contrasting circumstances surrounding the departures of two presenters who spent a decade together on one of Australian television’s best-known breakfast programs.
The Unresolved Legacy Of Australia’s Most Famous Morning Duo
The unexpected, public interplay between Karl Stefanovic’s firing and Lisa Wilkinson’s sharp commentary serves as a stark reminder of the tumultuous era that defined Australian breakfast television in the 2010s.
For ten years, the pair presented a united front as the undisputed faces of Channel Nine’s morning lineup, cultivating a rare on-screen dynamic that balanced hard-hitting journalism with lighthearted morning banter.
Yet behind that polished studio exterior lay brewing tension over gender pay equity, corporate loyalty, and executive management that ultimately tore the partnership apart.
Wilkinson’s decision to publicly revisit her 2017 exit via a satirical Instagram comment highlights how deeply those historical wounds still run beneath the surface.
While time and subsequent career moves—including her stint on Network 10’s The Sunday Project—offered a change of scenery, the core issue of her dismissal remains a defining narrative in contemporary Australian media history.
Her subtle joke at Nine’s expense re-centered the conversation on gender pay disparity and how female broadcasters were historically valued compared to their male counterparts.
A Full-Circle Moment For Commercial Television
As Nine closes the book on Stefanovic’s 25-year tenure following his podcast controversy, the television industry is left reflecting on the end of an era.
The stark contrast between how both presenters departed the network—Wilkinson leaving abruptly over contract equity, and Stefanovic parting ways after an unscripted, independent media misstep—underscores the volatile nature of top-tier television talent management.
While their brief studio reunion earlier this year suggested a professional truce, Wilkinson’s recent reaction proves that the legacy of their split is far from forgotten.
For viewers who spent a decade waking up to the duo, this latest exchange provides a dramatic, full-circle conclusion to one of the most compelling and complex partnerships in Australian media history.