‘It just turned viewers off’: Claims Karl Stefanovic’s hipster hat ‘cost him his job at Today’ with viewers slamming the trendy accessory as ‘try hard’
Over the past year, Karl Stefanovic seemed to be getting in touch with his youthful side thanks to this trendy accessory.
But an insider is claiming the 44-year-old’s humble brown hat may have cost him his job with breakfast TV show Today.
A source told Confidential on Sunday that audiences complained that his trilby hat made him ‘look like a try hard’.
‘It just turned viewers off’: Claims Karl Stefanovic’s hipster hat ‘cost him his job at Today’ with viewers slamming the accessory as ‘try hard’. Pictured: Karl and brother Peter Stefanovic
The insider told the publication market research sessions found that audience ‘couldn’t get past it’.
‘Session after session you would hear the complaints about Karl and this hat, and for some reason it just turned viewers off,’ they said.
‘[Audiences] said he was trying to look younger than he was, that he appeared arrogant. And they couldn’t get past it,’ the Channel Nine insider added.
Karl debuted the fashionable piece back in December 2016, a few months following his split from ex-wife Cassandra Thorburn.
Hat’s a new look: Karl debuted the fashionable piece back in December 2016, a few months following his split from ex-wife Cassandra Thorburn
Hats off to you: The hat made another appearance back in March 2018, when he was seen holding it in his hand as he walked through the airport terminal ahead
He wore the trendy hat again in February 2017 during a luxury yacht ride, accompanied by his then-girlfriend, now-wife Jasmine Yarbrough.
The hat made another appearance in March 2018, when he was seen holding it in his hand as he walked through the airport terminal ahead of his flight to the Gold Coast.
That same month he was also seen wearing accessory in relaxed, youthful ensemble of a white linen shirt, khaki shorts and Birkenstock sandals while picking up Jasmine from a salon.
He’s a hat man: That same month he was also seen wearing accessory in relaxed, youthful ensemble of a white linen shirt, khaki shorts and Birkenstock sandals while picking up Jasmine from a salon
Months later in August 2018, he donned the hat again in a selfie taken by his younger brother, journalist Peter Stefanovic, during an afternoon out on Sydney Harbour.
Karl was dumped from the Today show back in December 2018 during his honeymoon in Aspen, Colorado with wife Jasmine Yarbrough after the lavish nuptials in Mexico.
Prior to his axing, ratings for the show had dwindled to a 12 year low amid reports that female viewers had turned on the TV star after his divorce.
Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Channel Nine comment.
Wedded bliss: Karl was dumped from the Today show back in December 2018 during his honeymoon in Aspen, Colorado with wife Jasmine Yarbrough after the lavish nuptials in Mexico. Pictured: Karl and Jasmine after the wedding in Mexico