Comedian Henry Bretz, who has gained viral acclaim for his satirical videos impersonating Karl Stefanovic, says the former Today host turned podcaster blocked him on social media but 'doesn't scare me'. Bretz, a Queenslander who co-hosts the drive program on Sunshine Coast's 92.7 Mix FM, began impersonating Stefanovic a few months after the latter launched his independent podcast, The Karl Stefanovic Show, in January.
Over 30 Parody Videos Since April
Since April, Bretz has posted more than 30 satirical videos, with titles ranging from 'Karl Stefanovic when it rains' and 'Karl Stefanovic sees an electric vehicle' to 'Karl Stefanovic solves the Middle East'. Bretz says he has never had a 'personal vendetta' against Stefanovic but was concerned about his lurch to the right. Last month, Stefanovic was dumped from his $2.8 million contract with Nine for embracing far-right activist Tommy Robinson.
'I definitely hadn't … focused that much on Karl during the mainstream Today Show era. I just saw him as a relatively lovable larrikin,' Bretz says. 'Then when I saw him put his podcast out, to me, it was pretty obvious that he was following a blueprint that has been successful – albeit, pretty dangerous – in the United States. I was like, “Oh, this is definitely following the rhythms of a Joe Rogan”, which he savvily and cleverly identified as a gap in Australia.'
'This Is Ripe for Parody'
The first episode of Stefanovic's controversial podcast featured an interview with One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, followed by defector Barnaby Joyce and vaccine sceptic Gerard Rennick. Bretz had his eye on the program, but it wasn't until viewing a nostalgic video created for Stefanovic by content creator Sammy Thompson that he sensed it was ripe for satire. In Thompson's video, played on Stefanovic's podcast and shared on social media, Stefanovic reflects on how Australia used to be in his youth, set to sepia-tinged AI-generated footage of Brisbane in the 70s and 80s.
'I went to school barefoot with whole salamis and cheese for morning tea,' Stefanovic narrates. 'We also had a Nissan Urvan, no air-con. How we cooked on the way to the Goldie.' Immediately, Bretz was suspicious. 'I was like bro, you went to a private school in Brisbane, you went to Churchy, it's one of the most expensive schools in the city,' he says with a laugh. 'Without a political agenda I just was like “This is ripe for parody”, the idea of a guy who's sort of cosplaying a conservative trying his best to say what he thinks the audience wants to hear.'
Initial Like, Then Block
Surprisingly, Stefanovic liked Bretz's initial video, which racked up 18,000 likes and featured hit lines including 'Mum was a jar of Vegemite' and 'Dad bought five houses in one afternoon with a $20 note'. Stefanovic followed Bretz the same day. Also a fan of Bretz is former Today co-host Lisa Wilkinson, who liked and shared a video he posted after Stefanovic was dropped from Nine where he joked: 'So I get fired for speaking my mind but … Lisa Wilkinson, when she was going on and on about all that women shit, was she fired?' 'This is hilarious,' Wilkinson wrote. 'Hey, hang on, I WAS fired for going on about all that “women shit”.'
But as the parodies continued, Stefanovic changed his tune. After his initial success, Bretz posted a pointed criticism of Stefanovic's claim that his wife had become so enraged at Anthony Albanese's national address over the fuel excise, she lobbed a sausage sandwich at the television. 'I posted a video about that being like, we don't honestly think that happened, do we?' Bretz says. 'The Stefanovics are sitting in their $3m mansion throwing sausage sandwiches at their TV?' A few days later, while recording his podcast ClickHeads with co-host Archie Arenson, Bretz checked to see if Stefanovic was still following him. He wasn't – instead, he'd been blocked.
'He Doesn't Scare Me'
Bretz wasn't fussed. He says he was 'happy he wasn't loving it', as to be in on the joke can 'ruin it a bit'. He is often asked if he'd go on Stefanovic's podcast, if invited, and doesn't know the answer. 'I don't really want to be seen to endorse what he's doing with the podcast because I do think there's some fairly scary forces he's trying to tap into,' he says. 'I think he looks a little like he's playing in a space that maybe he hasn't fully appreciated yet. And I think the proof is in the pudding with that in the fallout around the Tommy Robinson chat.'
Stefanovic framed his departure from Nine as a matter of his free speech being curtailed, which he said is what his podcast 'is about'. 'You don't have to listen to my show. You have the power. You are smart enough to make up your own mind,' he said late last month. Bretz says 'freedom of speech doesn't mean freedom from consequence'. 'He doesn't scare me,' he says. 'He's done to me what Channel Nine did to him. It's ironic that there's almost symmetry between him saying he's a victim and how he approaches something as small and silly as a nobody comedian.' Stefanovic was approached for comment.
