Karl Stefanovic and Allison Langdon clash with Bunnings anti-masker live on air

Today show hosts Allison Langdon and Karl Stefanovic made the decision to cut short an interview with a Covid-19 conspiracy theorist on Tuesday morning, and apologised to Channel Nine viewers for any “upset” the chat may have caused.

The presenters were speaking to Elizabeth ‘Lizzy’ Rose, more commonly known as ‘Bunnings Karen’ after a video showing her clashing with a number of Bunnings staff went viral over the weekend. The footage shows Rose engaged in a verbal altercation with several employees over her refusal to follow mandatory guidelines and wear a face mask or covering in store.

The anti-masker appeared on the breakfast program this morning to discuss her views on Covid-19 calling the virus “bio-chemically engineered” and saying that although she once thought it was real, she now believes the pandemic has been “orchestrated” adding that “the amount of effect that it’s had isn’t true”.

"My health comes first." Anti-masker Lizzy believes COVID-19 is bio-chemically engineered and refuses to wear face masks. What are your thoughts on this? #9Today pic.twitter.com/Dgl4zuOjYh

— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) July 27, 2020

During the heated chat, Langdon and Stefanovic quickly became uninterested in what the woman had to say as she called the Covid-19 pandemic – which has now reached almost 15,000 total cases nationwide – “an agenda”.

Rose herself then brought up the fact that earlier this year she had posted seemingly contradictory photographs of herself wearing a mask on her Instagram page. In one of the photos, part of the caption read: “I urge everyone, the minute you step outside please wear a mask and gloves don’t listen to the government saying that you don’t need to.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-lpBlLg2HO/

In defence of the recent posts that seemed to contradict her current views, Rose called her decision to wear the masks her “choice” adding that she did it to prove her point that wearing a mask is entirely a choice and should not be mandated.

Langdon quickly butted in asking if it was also a choice for the now 700 elderly Australians in aged care who are affected with Covid-19. And when Rose responded asking the host if these people really were affected by Covid-19, implying it could be something else, Langdon seemed to have had enough.

“What was your medical degree again, sorry?” Langdon asked point blank.

The woman then admitted that she wasn’t a doctor nor a scientist but did work as a medic around four years ago and has worked as a psychic since the age of nine. She has also claimed in the past to be a high priestess who performs exorcisms for a living.

After cutting the interview short, a visibly disgruntled Stefanovic apologised to the audience for giving the woman airtime, while Langdon admitted that the hosts had grappled with the decision of whether or not to have her on the show the night before.

“We had this discussion last night whether we would give her air time,” Langdon said. “It is important. Bunnings staff members doing the right thing faced with this kind of activity and we felt it was important to hear from her point of view. I back you 100 per cent calling quits on that.”

The Bunnings incident on Sunday saw Rose filming herself being asked by Bunnings staff to put on a mask in accordance with store policy. She was then heard saying she didn’t need one because it was her “right as a living woman”. She was widely criticised from the public and even the Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, who spoke briefly spoke about Covid-19 conspiracy theorists on Monday describing the behaviour as “appalling”.

“The thing with conspiracy theorists, the more you engage in an argument with them, the more oxygen are giving them,” he said. “Ultimately, I think people can judge for themselves the efficacy, the credibility of people who are running those sort of keyboard warrior campaigns.”