Television presenter Karl Stefanovic has lost the opening round of a bitter falling-out with his podcast business partner Keshnee Kemp, after a judge blocked his plan to remove her as a director of their joint company just days before a scheduled vote.
Stefanovic had arranged a meeting for 9am on Friday, September 18, at which he intended to oust the former Woolworths executive from 123 Podcast Pty Ltd, the company behind the podcast the pair launched together. Kemp and Stefanovic's wife, Jasmine, are childhood friends.
With the backing of his longtime friend and ten per cent shareholder Anthony Bell, Stefanovic was planning to combine votes for a 55 per cent majority and replace Kemp with his longtime manager, Sharon Finnigan, according to the Daily Mail.
But on Tuesday, NSW Supreme Court Justice David Hammerschlag, known as "The Hammer," ruled the meeting off and granted an injunction stopping Stefanovic from holding it. Kemp's lawyer, Monica Allen of Blackbay Lawyers, filed the urgent legal application overnight on Monday, which Hammerschlag upheld, restraining Stefanovic, his company or the podcast company from convening the September 18 meeting or calling a vote to remove Kemp, whose married name is Keshnee Deborah Ibrahim, as director.
Why Kemp went to court
The Daily Mail understands Kemp brought the urgent action because she believed she would receive only minimal recompense for the company she helped build, arguing that Stefanovic's move to remove her, with Bell's help, was being made before her stake in the business had been independently valued.
Bell, a celebrity accountant and longtime business adviser to Stefanovic, holds his shareholding through his company, Bell Resources. He was not formally a party to the dispute, but Stefanovic's plan was expected to rely on their longstanding alliance.
Instead of allowing the meeting to proceed, Justice Hammerschlag ordered Stefanovic and Kemp to jointly appoint an independent expert to value the business. Kemp's separate application, which alleges Stefanovic engaged in "oppressive" conduct, is listed for a final hearing on October 13, 2026. A court document seen by the Daily Mail described Stefanovic's conduct dating back to August as "unfairly prejudicial or discriminatory."
Fallout from Stefanovic's Today show exit
The dispute follows Stefanovic's departure from Nine's Today show on June 25, which the Daily Mail reports triggered the breakdown of his long relationship with Kemp. Stefanovic lost his job and a seven-figure salary after Nine executives objected to a podcast interview he conducted with UK far-right figure Tommy Robinson.
Kemp had twice proposed splitting from the podcast, which led to the appointment of an independent valuer for 123 Podcast on both occasions, but Stefanovic backed away from progressing a valuation each time. On Tuesday, Stefanovic's barrister, Samuel Murray, told the Supreme Court his client wanted to confine any valuation to August 7, 2026, the date from which the dispute began, after weeks of negotiation over that date had failed to resolve the matter.
Kemp's role in building the podcast
Monica Allen, representing Kemp, told the court the podcast began when Stefanovic approached Kemp to build and operate the business. While Stefanovic was the on-air talent, it is understood Kemp did "the heavy lifting," building a substantial audience along with sponsorship and commercial opportunities while Stefanovic was still working at Today.
Kemp has held senior positions at Nine and Pacific Magazines, edited major titles owned by ACP, Bauer and Are Media, and served as Woolworths' head of content.
The court heard that the relationship between Kemp and Stefanovic had "irretrievably broken down" and that a buy-out of shares was an appropriate resolution, provided the parties could agree on a valuer.
What happens next
Justice Hammerschlag set the matter down for a hearing on October 13, 2026, but told both parties he would be open to mediation in the meantime. "If you want to have some sort of mediation, I'm happy to do that," he said. "If you can't agree you can come back."
