Pressure is mounting on Sky News presenter Peter Stefanovic to publicly apologize and resign over a “train wreck” interview in which he embarrassed an Indigenous teenager who just won $1 million in a competition. fishing.
The backlash against Stefanovic has become so intense that he appears to have deleted all of his social media accounts, while a prominent lawyer has spoken out against him on social media.
Last Sunday, Keegan Payne, 19, caught a 67cm barramundi in the Katherine River, having no idea it had a tag worth $1 million in a Northern Territory fishing competition.
When Stefanovic interviewed Payne on Wednesday, he began by asking him if he had ever stolen an ATV and quad bike from a former employer.
The teenager paused and said “Yes”, but instead of praising the Sky News presenter for his investigative journalism, he was criticized for mentioning something that happened when Payne was 15.
Pressure is mounting on Sky News presenter Peter Stefanovic (pictured) to resign over his ‘train wreck’ interview in which he embarrassed an Indigenous teenager.
Keegan Payne had no idea he had caught a fish worth $1 million (pictured) in a prize that had never been won before during nine seasons of the Northern Territory competition.
‘So what happened?’ —Stefanovic insisted.
Payne, who seemed genuinely remorseful, told Stefanovic that he and his friend “weren’t thinking at the time” and that he “very much” regretted his actions.
WhatsNew2Day Australia later revealed that the teenager had re-contacted his former boss, Bob Cavanagh of Cav’s Mowing, and offered to pay him back for the stolen vehicles.
“Out of the blue this morning, his dad called me and said, ‘Keegan wants to pay you,’ and you could have knocked me down with a feather,” Mr. Cavanagh said.
“He said Keegan had always felt very bad about what he did.”
Cavanagh did not press police charges at the time, but instead spoke to the children and their parents and had them work for free on weekends.
But the fact that the teenager has patched things up with the businessman has not saved Stefanovic from being criticized for how he treated the new millionaire on live television.
Attorney Jahan Kalantar, who regularly posts about legal issues on TikTok, said Stefanovic conducted a “derailed interview” and called him a “smarmy news anchor” who asked Payne about something he did as a child.
“Can you imagine any other community where you would bring up something that a child has done, which, by the way, is illegal?” Kalantar said in a video.
“It is completely inappropriate to (be asked) ‘do you feel sorry for what you did four years ago?’ when you were invited to do an interview about the fact that you won a fishing contest.”
Kalantar said the interview was “disgusting” and that Stefanovic had a “smug little smile on his face” when he asked the question.
He said the Sky presenter should “mind his manners” and that what he did was “disgraceful”.
Yvonne Weldon, an Indigenous Sydney city councillor, said she was shocked by the interview.
“They invited him to talk about his prize catch and then proceeded to put him on the stand for a misdemeanor as a teenager,” he wrote in a LinkedIn post.
‘In doing so, they have shown no respect for his well-being and his right to privacy.
“Furthermore, they have perpetuated a harmful and negative stereotype about Aboriginal youth.”
Lawyer Jahan Kalantar (pictured) said Stefanovic conducted a “derailed interview”
On Friday afternoon, Sky News removed the video of the interview and apologized to Payne.
“Sky News Australia and Peter Stefanovic apologize to Mr Payne and his family for raising these claims during the live interview about his million-dollar fishing competition win,” the statement said.
“Mr Stefanovic has contacted Mr Payne and his family directly to convey his apologies.”
Payne is the first person to win the top prize in the Northern Territory’s annual Million Dollar Fish competition, which is in its ninth season.
He said the victory changes the lives of his family, who suffered the tragic death of one of his brothers in an accident four years ago.
“This is crazy for us, we are a big family, there are eight of us, this is more money than we could ask for.” This is just great,’ she said.
The teenager said, as his family was shocked, “everyone is proud of me.”
“It’s pretty hard for us right now with money, but now with a million dollars, we don’t have to complain about it.”
He added that “I can buy whatever I want, maybe help mom and dad with the mortgage loans,” and said the family can now afford to take a vacation and is planning a trip to the United States.
Payne also intends to buy a new boat and a car.
Keegan Payne (pictured) thought the 67cm barramundi he picked up from the Katherine River on Sunday would make a good meal for his family.
Payne said his family (pictured) can now afford to take a holiday and is planning a trip to the United States.
The very humble teenager gratefully received the enormous prize.
When asked what the best thing about fishing in the Northern Territory was, he replied: “You can catch a million-dollar barra.”
The Cancer Council also received a check for $10,000 thanks to Payne choosing it as his charity of choice.
As for Stefanovic, on Saturday afternoon a petition demanding that he publicly apologize to Mr. Payne and resign, already had almost 2,000 signatures.