Married At First Sight 2024 participant Timothy Smith has levied serious accusations against Sky News host Peter Stefanovic following a controversial interview with an Indigenous teenager.
Smith, a 52-year-old reality TV personality, strongly criticised the 42-year-old Australian journalist for his handling of a recent interview with 19-year-old Keegan Payne, where Stefanovic confronted Payne about his past during a live broadcast. In a scathing TikTok video uploaded on Monday, Smith alleged a previous encounter with Stefanovic during a wild night in Vancouver, Canada, two decades ago.
“What people don’t know is Pete actually visited me 20 years ago in Vancouver,” Smith claimed in the video. “So Pete, do you remember the 24-hour bender that we went on in Vancouver?”
Sources disclosed that Smith and Stefanovic had some familiarity through mutual connections, notably when the TV journalist dated one of Smith’s acquaintances.
Smith’s video begins with a direct condemnation of Stefanovic’s interview tactics, demanding his resignation. “I’ve got to say, mate, I’m absolutely f**king disgusted in you,” Smith asserted. “For a young bloke in the territory to actually turn his life around, and for you to point out something that he did five years ago… you should be absolutely disgusted in yourself.”
The controversial interview occurred after Keegan Payne made headlines by winning $1 million in a fishing competition in Katherine, Northern Territory. However, Payne’s joyous moment was overshadowed by Stefanovic’s probing questions about past allegations of theft, leaving viewers outraged.
Stefanovic later issued an apology during his show, expressing regret for his line of questioning and acknowledging his mistake. “An apology from me, last Wednesday we invited Keegan Payne onto our show to discuss his win in the Million Dollar Fish competition in the Northern Territory,” Stefanovic stated. “During that interview I asked him about a theft that had occurred several years earlier. I should not have asked him about those claims and I regret doing so.”
Despite the apology, backlash against Stefanovic persisted on social media, with many condemning his actions and expressing support for Payne. Some criticised Stefanovic for attempting to tarnish a positive moment in Payne’s life, while others highlighted Payne’s efforts to turn his life around and criticised Stefanovic’s approach to journalism.
Meanwhile, Timothy Smith, known for his appearance on MAFS and subsequent revelations about his past involvement in drug smuggling, has remained in the spotlight for his candid disclosures. Smith, who “married” Lucinda Light on the show, openly discussed his criminal history involving smuggling marijuana via helicopter from Canada into the United States. He emphasised that while he deeply regrets his past actions, they do not define him, and he has since changed his ways.
