Channel Nine TV presenter Karl Stefanovic has posted a video of himself embracing UK far-right activist Tommy Robinson, who is set to appear on his podcast. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.
It comes after the Gold Logie winner told another UK activist, Ant Middleton, a former soldier who has spoken at Robinson's "unite the kingdom" rallies, he would "make a great prime minister", in an interview on his podcast, the Karl Stefanovic Show, on Monday.
Stefanovic posted a clip on social media on Tuesday morning in which he is walking down a London street with his arm slung around Robinson, who has spearheaded recent nationalist demonstrations in the UK.
Robinson asks Stefanovic to finish a sentence: "Keir Starmer is a ...." Stefanovic responds "wanker" and the pair erupt in laughter.
The post's caption refers to Robinson as "the ultimate disruptor" and says he will be the next guest on Stefanovic's podcast.
Stefanovic is one of Australia's most famous television presenters. He reportedly earns $2.8m at Nine, where he anchors major live news events and co-hosts the Today breakfast show.
Stefanovic has been nominated for this year's Logies in the "most popular news or public affairs presenter".
But he is understood to be making exit plans from television. Nine approved the podcast launch late last year, in return for him taking a pay cut.
Robinson was among those to share graphic footage on social media of a Sudanese refugee alleged to have carried out a knife attack on a man in Belfast.
The viral footage led to what anti-racist group Hope Not Hate described as a trigger event, where "something horrifying happens" and it is seized on by the far right, who blame "mass migration" for it.
Homes and cars were burned in the riots after the alleged incident.
Earlier this month, British police seized Robinson's phones under counter-terrorism laws on his return from a trip to Russia, where he met Musk's father. He was held for about three hours before being released.
Robinson has a lengthy criminal record. It includes convictions for violence, public order offences, and financial and immigration frauds. He also has convictions for stalking and harassing journalists and has twice been convicted for contempt of court. He was banned from entering the US but was able to visit earlier this year, when he was hosted by the Trump administration.
Stefanovic's rightward shift and podcast success have prompted comparisons to US podcast host Joe Rogan, with Stefanovic riposting "Joe Bogan."
His Australian guests have included One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, and others from the party such as Barnaby Joyce and Sean Bell.
Other rightwing guests include former Liberal prime ministers Tony Abbott and John Howard, and Coalition figures Alex Antic, Matt Canavan and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has appeared as has South Australia's Labor premier, Peter Malinauskas.
In Monday's interview with Middleton, the far-right activist told Stefanovic that British culture and identity was being suppressed while "outside or external cultures" were being "accelerated". He said that causes confusion, which leads to frustration, which leads to anger and then to violence. He said he doesn't condone violence but "can understand the civil unrest situation".
Stefanovic replied that there were people around "who I'd love, you know, to follow, because they're able to articulate it".
Middleton, a former special forces soldier, has appeared alongside Robinson (whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) at rallies. Right-wing party Reform UK has recently appeared to distance itself from Middleton and his increasingly extreme views.
Stefanovic went on to talk about One Nation's surge in the polls in Australia and likens the UK Tories to "Tories in Australia", and asked Middleton how to convert Reform UK's popularity into seats in parliament.
Middleton lamented that the right had been led by their emotions, "over-passionate" and "over-patriotic".
"You can't be over-patriotic," Stefanovic said, before telling Middleton he was "what this country needs".
"You'd make a great prime minister," he said. Middleton responded that there was "definitely a calling for that" but that it was at least a decade off.
The pair also discussed using military forces to "stop those boats".
Middleton said he hopes Australia will "look at the UK and you'll learn from us before you get to the stage that we're at and it's potentially too late", warning of the "woke mind virus".