Karl Stefanovic has savaged the troll who attacked Channel 10 presenter Narelda Jacobs.
The 49-year-old Channel Nine star defended Jacobs, 48, after she was mocked by a viewer for an outfit she wore on air during a news broadcast on Tuesday.
Describing Jacobs as ‘great’, Stefanovic called out the rampant sexism that female TV presenters regularly cop from keyboard warriors over how they look and what they wear.
‘Narelda is a great newsreader. Full stop,’ he told The Daily Telegraph.
During his chat, Stefanovic recalled how he once wore the same suit on air every day for a year.
Karl Stefanovic (pictured) has savaged the troll who attacked Channel 10 presenter Narelda Jacob. ‘Narelda is a great newsreader. Full stop,’ he told The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday
The popular presenter pulled the stunt ten years ago as an ‘experiment’ to see whether men would be held up to the same scrutiny as women by viewers over their appearance.
He found that no fan ever made a comment or seemed to notice what he was wearing.
‘Nothing has changed for women in the media since then,’ Stefanovic told the publication.
The 49-year-old Channel Nine star defended Jacobs, 48, after she was mocked for an outfit she wore on air during a news broadcast on Tuesday. Pictured: Jacobs on the red carpet in 2023
‘My colleagues Sarah [Abo] and Brooke [Boney] cop it every day from trolls… they are incredible professionals and wonderful people. They don’t deserve it.
‘Platforms should not allow it. Trolls shouldn’t have a voice. They don’t deserve one. ‘It infuriates me what [my female colleagues] deal with,’ he continued.
It comes after Jacobs called out the shocking email that was sent to the newsroom during a broadcast on Tuesday.
Describing Jacobs as ‘great’, Stefanovic called out the rampant sexism that female TV presenters regularly cop from keyboard warriors over how they look and what they wear. Pictured: Jacobs in the outfit that one troll condemned as ‘inappropriate’
The respected Australian journalist who is the host of the midday bulletin 10 News First was wearing a V-neck blouse paired with a patterned blazer.
A viewer branded the outfit ‘inappropriate’ in a message sent via email that ended up being seen by the broadcaster and the entire newsroom.
‘Inappropriate dress sense for reading the news. Cleavage is for the nightclub,’ the email read.
Stefanovic said that his Today show colleagues Sarah Abo and Brooke Boney are constantly trolled over their appearance by viewers
Responding to this unsolicited advice, Jacobs expressed her dismay.
‘Yes, we still receive emails like this,’ she wrote.
‘Yes, it went to the entire newsroom. Yes, I was on air at the time. Yes, it is intended to shame and humiliate me. No, what I’m wearing is not inappropriate but your email sure is.’
The post garnered immediate support from Jacobs’ followers and colleagues, with many sharing their own experiences of unwarranted criticism.
Dessert Masters judge Melissa Leong commented: ‘File under ‘When you really hate yourself, so you decide to email random strangers to tell them.’
Similarly, retired swimmer and former weather presenter Giaan Rooney reflected on her own experiences.
‘Yep. The number of emails the newsroom used to get attacking everything about my appearance when I was presenting the weather was incredible,’ she stated.
