Politics

“Complete BS”: Karl Stefanovic Stands Up To The Government On Marriage Equality Plebiscite

"Pull your fingers out in Canberra and get on with it."

Karl Stefanovic

Want more Junkee in your life? Sign up to our newsletter, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook so you always know where to find us.

This morning on Today, Karl Stefanovic used one of his signature blistering hot takes to slam the government’s recommitment to a plebiscite on marriage equality as “complete BS”.

Stefanovic urged politicians to “pull [their] fingers out in Canberra and get on with it”. “Let’s just look at this simply, confidently, and compassionately,” he said. “Why are we stopping people from loving each other?”

He also didn’t shy away from calling out opponents of marriage equality who, based on the video’s comments (would not recommend reading if you’re queer and want to have a good day), seem to be a significant part of Today’s audience.

“Why do any of us have a right to stand in the way? This is more about the fear and naivety of non-gay people than anything to do with the problem with gay marriage. Most importantly, in the nation’s capital, it has become a political football. It is less about the real issue, and all about the chest-beating and posturing of politics.”

While today’s stand is, admittedly, the bare minimum of support a straight ally with a huge platform could be offering right now, it’s a pretty big move from a few months ago when Karl had to apologise for casually dropping a bunch of transphobic slurs on air. To his credit, that apology appeared to include a genuine commitment to learn and improve, and today’s stance is evidence he’s taking that responsibility seriously.

Anyway, there’s no need to go nuts and nominate him for an award over actual LGBTQ people, but if you’d like to watch an ally actually stick up for the LGBTQ community, you can check out the full vid below.

Alternatively, if you’re angry about yesterday’s plebiscite clusterfuck and would find it more cathartic to just watch some straight people suffer for once, Sharknado 5 will reportedly feature old mate Karl getting devoured by a tornado of sharks. Whatever floats your boat.