Today show host Karl Stefanovic has been the subject of ‘hair transplant’ rumours for a number of years – all of which he’s denied.
On Thursday, the 45-year-old presenter was only too happy to make a joke about his tresses in an interview with Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Karl asked the Prime Minister about his relationship with US President Donald Trump during Channel Nine’s A Current Affair.
Tressed out! Karl Stefanovic makes a joke about his hair as he interviews Prime Minister Scott Morrison about President Trump amid rumours he has spent ‘$55,000 on hair plugs’ over the last few years. Here: On A Current Affair on Thursday
‘He’s always been straight up with me. And he’s always shown a great interest in Australia,’ the Prime Minister said.
‘Through his Presidency the United States has been a good friend to Australia,’ he added, remarking on trade and defence agreements.
Karl then took it upon himself to get a little more personal, asking the PM’s view on President Trump’s famous sandy mane.
Tressing issue! ‘Well, he’s got more of it than I do!’ Scott said. To which Karl replied: ‘Yeah, I can’t really complain about that either.’
‘Anything else you like personally about him? His hair?’ Karl asked the Prime Minister.
‘Well, he’s got more of it than I do!’ the Prime Minister said, to which Karl replied: ‘Yeah, I can’t really complain about that either.’
Karl’s hair has regularly been in the news, amid speculation he has spent a whopping $55,000 on hair plugs.
Mane appeal! Karl Stefanovic and PM Scott Morrison got onto the topic of President Donald Trump’s hair: ‘Anything else you like personally about him? His hair?’ Karl asked. Pictured: US President Donald Trump
A source close to the journalist denied the rumours to Daily Mail Australia in April
‘It’s just completely untrue,’ they said.
‘He doesn’t know where this has come from. The idea he spent $55,000 on hair plugs is absolutely ludicrous. If he paid $55,000 for that he’d want his money back.’
The source also denied rumours he dyed his mane black that same month.
New look: Karl Stefanovic’s hair appeared noticeably darker on the Today show in April (R). He has told friends the difference was due to poor lighting. (L) Karl with lighter hair in 2018
The $55,000 hair plug rumour began last year when Woman’s Day reported Karl had spent that amount on transplants over the years.
In September, Karl joked about his ‘expensive’ hair on This Time Next Year.
He stepped away from a woman who was burning her bra on stage, saying: ‘Don’t want to burn my hair and stuff. Do you know what I mean? It’s expensive!’
A hair-raising figure! Last year, Woman’s Day reported that Karl had spent up to $55,000 on a hair transplant. Karl has denied the claim to friends. Pictured with Georgie Gardner in 2018
In January, Karl slammed his former colleague Richard Reid and called him a ‘tosser’ after the gossip guru discussed his hair transplant on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
He told The Kyle and Jackie O Show: ‘When he said it, I had to turn off that show and I just thought, “You are just a tosser. Richard Reid is a tosser of the highest order!'”
Just minutes later, Richard called in to offer his side of the story. He claimed that he and Karl didn’t get along during their seven years on the Today show.
War of words! In January, Karl slammed his former colleague Richard Reid (pictured) and called him a ‘tosser’ after the gossip guru discussed his hair transplant on I’m a Celebrity…
He also defended his hair transplant revelation by saying he had ‘kept Karl’s name in the headlines… when he didn’t have a job’ in 2019.
The pair’s feud went public in February 2019 when Richard – who hosted a daily Hollywood gossip segment on Today from 2008 until 2015 – let slip on I’m A Celebrity… that Karl had undergone a hair transplant years earlier.
Recalling the moment he discovered Karl’s hair loss, he said: ‘So I go into the hair room, and this guy looks up and he’s kind of balding… It was Karl Stefanovic without his spray-on hair!
Rivals: The pair’s feud went public in February 2019 when Richard – who hosted a daily Hollywood gossip segment on Today from 2008 until 2015 – let slip on I’m a Celebrity that Karl had undergone a hair transplant years earlier. Pictured with Richard Wilkins in October 2007
‘And then he went away and got hair plugs. He had one of those six-week vacations and came back with [makes gesture for hair plugs]. And he still used the spray-on until it filled in!’
Of course, it wasn’t the first time Karl’s hair had made headlines.
In 2017, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that he’d undergone a transplant because he was feeling ‘pressure’ to look younger.
The publication claimed he’d had a ‘subtle hair transplant’ a few years earlier to cover thinning at the front and top.
Pressure: In 2017, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that he’d undergone a transplant because he was feeling ‘pressure’ to look younger. Here: July, 2019