Robert Irwin Just Went ROGUE On Live TV And His Brutal Karl Stefanovic Dig Has The Logies Audience In SHOCK
The 22-year-old wasted no time in ripping into one of the biggest absentees of the night.
Robert Irwin has taken a dig at Karl Stefanovic during his opening monologue as host at the 2026 Logie Awards.
The 22-year-old had big shoes to fill, taking over the role that Sam Pang held for three years, and he pulled out a suite of jokes to warm up the crowd.
He mentioned Channel 10 axing his show, I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!, called out Dave Hughes and Sam, and highlighted Karl’s absence from the glitzy program.
The ex-Today show host confirmed earlier this week he wouldn’t be attending, saying it would be a “tad awkward” following his sensational axing from Channel 9 earlier this year.
And Robert certainly didn’t hold back about this while addressing the crowd.
“Just a quick little bit of housekeeping,” he said.
“Unfortunately, Karl Stefanovic didn’t RSVP tonight, which means we didn’t have to hire quite as many bartenders.
“But we’ve kept him a spare seat, just in case, it’s over there to the right.
“The…far right.”
It’s a nod to Karl interviewing far-right British activist Tommy Robinson on his independent podcast, which was the episode that sparked his exit from Nine.
The Karl Stefanovic Show has also platformed a bunch of people on the right side of politics since it started earlier this year.
Shortly after Robert’s punchline, the camera panned to Sunrise hosts Matt Shirvington and Nat Barr, who looked stunned by the comment.
On social media, users were very polarised about the dig.
“Not funny and unnecessary digs at Karl…turned it off, Australian TV is crap anyway,” said one.
“Robert Irwin was one of my favourite Aussies, but this was a low, unnecessary blow against Karl and Hughesy, that few in the room found funny. Did you have to make it political?” added another.
“Perfection,” wrote a third.
“We need presenters at the Logies to stand up against the far right,” commented a fourth.
Who won the Gold Logie 2026?
Sam Pang was given the coveted award at this year’s event.
The actor was up against Robert Irwin, Julia Morris, Todd Woodbridge, Ally Langdon, Lisa Millar and Poh Ling Yeow.
The Have You Been Paying Attention? was presented with the Gold Logie by none other than Sharon Strezlecki aka Magda Szubanski.