Karl Stefanovic has declared “I’m free” after the Nine Network confirmed he had been axed “effective immediately” after his disastrous podcast with British racist Tommy Robinson.

Nine newspapers reported on Friday that an email had informed staff it was “the right time for Karl to move on from the Today show and Nine”.

“Karl has been a fixture on our screens for over two decades, so we know this is a significant change for our viewers and all of us here at Nine. However, it’s the right time to make it,” the email from chief executive Matt Stanton said.

Sarah Abo confirmed her co-host’s departure. Photo:Today

Today co-host Sarah Abo shared the news with viewers while fighting back tears.

“We know there has been a lot of speculation about Karl’s future with the show,” Abo told the audience on Friday morning.

“This morning, we want to inform you that Karl will not be returning to the Today show, or to Nine.”

Abo said there had been mixed reactions to the scandal surrounding her co-host of three years.

“We’ve spoken to a lot of people over the past few days, have varying emotions,” she said.

“They’re upset, they’re sad this is all happening, and we all wish it wasn’t ending like this and that we could say goodbye to Karl our friend in a different way.”

The Nine newspapers said the terms of Stefanovic’s departure were finalised early on Friday. It was unclear whether the network will pay out the estimated $1 million balance of Stefanovic’s contract.

After the announcement, Stefanovic posted his own message on his YouTube channel, saying: “So, I’m free, truly independent.”

“I didn’t get the chance to thank my free-to-air audience for 21 years, so thank you for riding the ups and downs,” he said.

He said the recent stress “wasn’t easy”, but “we rolled on”.

Stefanovic said he believed the public deserved to hear perspectives.

“On my show I’ve spoken to people who have different perspectives, I know that winds some people up,” he said.

“Sometimes I agree with everything a guest says, sometimes I don’t.

“But importantly, you get to make up your mind … Freedom of speech, here and around the world, is what this show is about. You don’t have to listen to my show, you have the power.”

He finished saying: “Honestly, I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I’ll figure it out”, and then winked and ran from the camera while clicking his heels together.

In another email, Nine director of news and current affairs Fiona Dear told staff that journalists had an obligation to ask difficult questions.

“Part of what makes us tick is trying to understand why people are the way they are, or think the way they think,” she said.

“We welcome open debate and challenging norms with constructive, balanced arguments.

“As journalists, we play a critical role in society to question, challenge, and hold people to account regardless of where they come from or which political party or views they represent.”

Stefanovic has been criticised for failing to challenge Robinson during his near hour-long interview, which was released on Tuesday and deleted by Wednesday morning.

During the episode, Stefanovic praises the far-right activist’s tenacity and courage for “trying to stand up for what you believe is right”.

The podcast is run independently of Nine and ARN.

Stefanovic also cancelled a scheduled appearance on his new radio show, The Long Weekend, as a backlash mounts over his podcast interview with Robinson. Co-host Eddie McGuire will steer the ship solo on Friday.

It is understood Stefanovic chose to back out on Friday, and his future with radio network Australian Media & Entertainment is not in question.

The weekly news, sport and entertainment show was launched earlier in June on radio giant ARN’s Gold station. It was to stream on Nine platforms.

But ARN will seek assurances from Stefanovic’s management about plans for his independent podcast, The Karl Stefanovic Show, following the Robinson uproar.

Focus shifted to ARN after Nine reportedly decided to cut ties with Stefanovic.

ARN has also put itself at arm’s length, saying its association with Stefanovic is limited to specific radio engagements.

“His external media activities, including his podcast, are undertaken in a personal capacity and are entirely separate from the network, which we have no control over,” it said.

“They do not represent ARN’s views, editorial standards or programming.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday that Stefanovic had moved further out on the edges of mainstream political debate in Australia.

“I think that that can have an impact [on social cohesion],” he told an event in Canberra.

The Karl Stefanovic Show episode went live on Tuesday night and was scrubbed across multiple platforms by Wednesday morning.

It is unclear why Stefanovic’s interview with Robinson was taken down or who made the call.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson reposted video of the episode on her YouTube channel on Wednesday, claiming Nine was trying to sack her good friend.

The interview sparked a rebuke from activist group Mad F–king Witches, which previously targeted ARN advertisers over its employment of shock jock Kyle Sandilands.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, co-founded the now-defunct anti-Islam English Defence League movement. He has twice cancelled speaking tours of Australia after being denied a visa and has multiple criminal convictions.

Nationals leader Matt Canavan also rushed to Stefanovic’s defence once news broke he was expected to depart Nine.

“Australian journalists should not lose their jobs for talking to someone,” he wrote on X.

In a video teasing the episode online, Stefanovic puts his arm around Robinson.

“I really do admire your tenacity and the courage that you’re showing in trying to stand up for what you believe is right,” he said during the interview.

Stefanovic, who has co-hosted Today on and off for more than two decades, has not responded to requests for comment.

-with AAP