Karl's joke about the Queen's walking stick goes global
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Karl Stefanovic has made headlines across the UK after making a crude joke about the Queen using a walking stick at a public engagement for the first time.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The monarch was seen using the stick while attending a service at Westminster Abbey marking the centenary of the Royal British Legion.</span></p>
<p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7844816/queen-stick.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/3cde2b26359944cc9093727c65ca4188" /></p>
<p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Getty Images</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As Alex Cullen reported the day’s headlines on Wednesday, he said, “She was using a cane. She was 95.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Stefanovic replied: “She could use it to beat you up.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I’d let her win. She’s 95,” Cullen joked.</span></p>
<p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7844814/cullen-queen.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/3b7ca1c8bc49433780edab0d74303d73" /></p>
<p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Today / Channel 9</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“She would smash you bro,” Stefanovic continued, to which Cullen said: “She would smash me and then jump on me.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I suppose she is single,” Stefanovic replied, prompting laughter across the panel.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“And shout at me for being a proud Republican,” Stefanovic added.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Since the episode aired, the hosts have received some backlash on social media.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">British supporters of the Queen took to Twitter to share their criticisms and call for Stefanovic’s firing, while British and US news publications described the joke as “crude”, “gross”, and “uncolored”.</span></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr">Today host Karl Stefanovic makes gross joke about Queen Elizabeth, 95, using a walking stick <a href="https://t.co/vsQdM43R2L">https://t.co/vsQdM43R2L</a></p>
— USMAIL24 (@usmail24) <a href="https://twitter.com/usmail24/status/1448255493621886976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 13, 2021</a></blockquote>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Not the 1st time Aussie showbiz clowns have mocked Our Royal Family to try & improve their status, when it just shows how pathetically desperate the Aussie mainstream media is for presenters, they have to scrape scum from the barrels,” user Upstart Eagle tweeted.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I’m assuming [Stefanovic’s] aged about 12, in which case he needs his arse smacked and no supper,” author Peter Maughan tweeted.</span></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr">Karl Stefanovic makes crude joke about the Queen using a walking stick. Stefanovic & Cullen should be fired for their rudeness, disrespect & crude insinuations, that stick is to help our 95 year old Queen & that sort of rubbish on our TV program should be dealt with harshly,</p>
— Old Bill (@Cuthred) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cuthred/status/1448119643206529029?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 13, 2021</a></blockquote>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It was the first time the Queen used the walking aid since 2004, when she was recovering following a knee operation.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though many are concerned for the Queen’s health, it is understood she used the stick for comfort.</span></p>
<p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Today / Channel 9</span></em></p>