Lisa Wilkinson’s tell-all memoir is causing plenty of waves – even before it’s released.
And now the huge advance that the TV anchor, 61, was paid for writing her autobiography, It Wasn’t Meant To Be Like This, can finally be revealed.
The ousted Today star was given an upfront payment of ‘more than $400,000’ according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Payday: The huge advance that Lisa Wilkinson, 61 (pictured), was paid for writing her autobiography, It Wasn’t Meant To Be Like This, can finally be revealed
The figure is ‘on par with’ the advances paid to former Prime Minister Julia Gillard and rock icon Jimmy Barnes for their respective memoirs, the publication alleges.
In publishing terms, an advance is essentially an upfront signing bonus for an author.
It is typically paid against future royalty earnings, which means for every dollar the author receives in an advance, they must earn a dollar from book sales before receiving any additional royalty payments.
Esteemed company: The figure is ‘on par with’ the advances paid to former Prime Minister Julia Gillard (right in 2015) and rock icon Jimmy Barnes (left in 2012) for their respective memoirs
The revelation comes after Karl Stefanovic has finally broken his silence on his former Today show co-host’s autobiography.
Lisa makes several explosive claims about Karl in the tell-all memoir, including that he ‘gave her the cold shoulder’ when she left the show and that there was a salary disparity between them.
When contacted for comment by the Sydney Morning Herald over Lisa’s claims, Karl, 47, took the high road.
‘I’m very happy’: Karl Stefanovic (left) has issued a classy response to Lisa’s tell-all memoir, which contains several explosive claims about their time at the Today show together
‘Brother, I’ve got too many positive and wonderful things going on in my life to talk about that stuff,’ he said.
‘I’m very happy. In work and life,’ he added.
On Wednesday, entertainment journalist Peter Ford claimed on 6PR Breakfast it was Stefanovic who initially ‘lobbied for’ Wilkinson to get her job on the Today show in 2006, while knowing ‘full well that she’d be earning more money than him’.
Wilkinson’s new autobiography It Wasn’t Meant To Be Like This lifts the lid on the pair’s apparently strained relationship, even claiming Stefanovic gave her the cold shoulder in the week prior to her exit from the show.
On Wednesday, entertainment journalist Peter Ford claimed it was Karl (left) who initially ‘lobbied for’ Lisa (right) to get her job on the Today show in 2006, while knowing ‘full well that she’d be earning more money than him’
‘It was actually Karl that got Lisa the job,’ Ford told host Gareth Parker.
‘They met socially by way of Larry Emdur, and at the time they were looking for a new co-host and Karl went and lobbied Eddie McGuire – who was running the joint – and I suspect Lisa was probably shortlisted anyway, because she’s perfectly qualified for the gig.
‘But certainly Karl went and lobbied for her to get it, knowing full well that she’d be sitting alongside him and she’d be earning more money than him.’
‘Karl went and lobbied for her to get it, knowing full well that she’d be sitting alongside him and she’d be earning more money than him,’ Ford said
He added that he doesn’t believe Karl will ‘say anything’ about the rumoured feud, adding that it’s probably ‘the wisest move’ to keep quiet.
Daily Mail Australia contacted a representative for Lisa Wilkinson for comment at the time. Channel Nine declined to comment when approached.
Wilkinson’s explosive new book includes a chapter dedicated to her sacking from Channel Nine and falling out with Stefanovic over a pay dispute.
She alleges Stefanovic proposed in August 2015 they join forces to renegotiate their Nine contracts – not unlike how the cast of American sitcom Friends famously worked together to broker better deals with NBC.
But she claims he ended up ditching this idea and instead played rival networks Nine and Seven off against each other in order to secure a better deal for himself.
‘Weeks later… the media became awash with stories that Stefanovic was restless at Today and looking for greener pastures – and more civilised working hours – at Channel Seven,’ she wrote.
Wilkinson’s new book includes a chapter dedicated to her sacking from Channel Nine and falling out with Stefanovic over a pay dispute. She alleges Stefanovic proposed in August 2015 they join forces to renegotiate their Nine contracts – but claims he ditched this idea and instead played Nine and Seven off against each other to secure a better deal for himself
Stefanovic was soon at the centre of a bidding war between Nine and Seven that resulted in him re-signing a five-year deal with Nine worth at least $2million per year.
Wilkinson’s deal was worth significantly less, about $780,000 a year, and was only for two years.
‘There was no doubt about it: Karl certainly knew the art of the deal,’ she wrote, adding that the resulting pay disparity between them ‘was so off the charts that no-one would have believed it’.
However, this allegedly doesn’t tell the full story, with News.com.au reporting this week Wilkinson had in fact earned more than Stefanovic for years when they first joined forces on Today, and it was only at the end of their partnership that the roles reversed.
‘There was no doubt about it: Karl certainly knew the art of the deal,’ Lisa wrote in the memoir, adding that the resulting pay disparity between them ‘was so off the charts that no-one would have believed it’
On Tuesday, an article written by respected political journalist Samantha Maiden reported that when Karl first signed up to the breakfast show in 2006, he was on half of Lisa’s pay packet, which was a reported $700,000.
‘When they were first on the show, she was paid a lot more than he was,’ an alleged Nine insider told the publication.
‘Then, he was able to wedge a fee increase because Seven made him a big offer. If Nine wanted to keep him, they had to pay him, which is what happened.
‘If you look at what he’s paid now, it’s probably not too dissimilar to what she was offered. So, you know, you can take things in a point of time, but I don’t think there would have been much difference between the two now.’
This damning article – which challenges Wilkinson’s most significant claim about her exit from the Today show – reportedly sent the book’s publisher into a major spin.
Harper Collins Australia demanded a preview copy of the memoir be returned by the news website following publication of the story, well-placed sources told Daily Mail Australia
Harper Collins Australia have demanded a preview copy of the memoir be returned by the news website following publication of the story, sources told Daily Mail Australia.
‘They blew up and asked for their copy back,’ said an insider at the website.
News.com.au editor Lisa Muxworthy declined to comment when contacted by Daily Mail Australia. A spokesperson for Harper Collins declined to confirm the allegation.
The news.com.au article challenged Wilkinson’s most significant claim about her exit from the Today show. (Wilkinson is pictured on Channel 10’s The Project)