Karl Stefanovic has played down explosive allegations he touched a waiter at a charity event, keeping tight-lipped about the headline story on air this morning.
News broke yesterday that the controversial Today host was accused of groping an unnamed waiter at a Mercedes-Benz melanoma charity fundraiser in Brisbane in August, according to the Courier mail.
The 48-year-old hosted the event, with his wife Jasmine in attendance, and raised $290,000 for melanoma research.
The allegations made headlines across the country on Thursday, given that Stefanovic has been a TV stalwart for decades.
However, the father-of-four made no mention of the allegations on Friday morning today, while temporary co-host Sarah Abo also ignored the matter.
Queensland Police told him Courier mail that they were investigating an alleged assault that is said to have taken place on August 20.
“Queensland Police are investigating a report of an alleged assault of a man at a business in Newstead during an event on Saturday 20 August,” a spokesman said.
“As investigations are ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further.”
Stefanovic has not been charged.
Stefanovic has been in London for the past week covering the Queen’s funeral for Channel 9.
He flew back on Wednesday, leaving co-host Allison Langdon to direct proceedings from outside Buckingham Palace alone.
Channel 9 has been contacted for comment.
Once the golden boy of Australian television, Stefanovic has had a tumultuous few years, starting with the breakdown of his decades-long marriage to Cassandra Thorburn, the mother of his three children.
The couple separated in late 2016 and formally finalized their divorce in May 2017, and reports soon surfaced that he was dating fashion designer and model Jasmine Yarbrough, whom he married in 2018.
That year, he faced major professional setbacks when former co-presenter Lisa Wilkinson left Today and was replaced by Georgie Gardner, only to see the show’s ratings plummet.
It also made headlines in 2018 after an Uber driver recorded a 45-minute speakerphone conversation between Stefanovic and his brother Peter, who was riding in the Uber car with his wife Sylvia Jeffreys during the late-night call, in which, according to it is reported, he hit his colleagues and close associate Richard Wilkins.
The driver shared the details to a magazine for $50,000, causing a major scandal.
Then, in 2019, he was unceremoniously dropped from the show, only to return just over 12 months later, alongside new co-host Allison Langdon.
But rumors that she was due to leave the show again began swirling earlier this year, with Women’s Day reported in April that Stefanovic would leave his position as co-presenter of Channel 9’s breakfast TV and focus on producing more stories for 60 minutes
The report stated that Stefanovic would continue to play a behind-the-scenes role on the Today show that would allow her to spend more time with her family.
Stefanovic denied the claims and told 3AW’s Neil Mitchell the rumors were “absolutely silly”.