Karl Stefanovic had his Today Show co-stars cringing on Friday after making a rather off-colour joke about the now-viral corpse flower.
The panel were discussing the rare and bizarre looking flower, also known by the same Putricia, which is currently in full bloom at Sydney‘s Royal Botanic Gardens.
Reporter Bianca Balzer was on air discussing the unusual flora, its trademark odour, why thousands are flocking to see the rare plant in all its glory.
‘If you do plan on making the pilgrimage like these many people who’ve come here to witness Putricia today, I do recommend doing it soon,’ she said.
She then pointed to the top of the plant which was obviously beginning to droop.
‘As you can see that top part there had just started to kink as we’ve been here, which is a sign that she is starting to perish,’ she added.
Karl Stefanovic had his Today Show co-stars cringing on Friday after making a rather off-colour joke about the now-viral corpse flower
Newsreader Jayne Azzopardi then jumped in to suggest that the drooping flower resembled an emu.
Not satisfied with his colleague’s assessment, Karl humorously jumped in with a not-so-subtle allusion to erectile disfunction.
‘Happens to all of us as we get older,’ Karl quipped, much to the chagrin of his co-stars.
Sarah Abo averted her eyes down at the desk with an awkward smile as she tried to contain her laughter while sport presenter Roz Kelly, who was live at Melbourne Park, offered a chuckle.
‘Tough act to follow there, a rotting flaccid Putricia,’ she joked.
The flower has become somewhat of an internet sensation, with a live stream charting its growth generating almost a million views.
The ABC reported that almost 20,000 people had lined up to see the rare corpse flower in full bloom.
Karl is no stranger to leaving his colleagues cringing with his humour and left his co-stars chuckling with his rude joke on air last month..
The panel were discussing the rare flower, dubbed Putricia which was in full bloom at Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens, the top of which had started to wilt
‘As you can see that top part there had just started to kink as we’ve been here, which is a sign that she is starting to perish,’ reporter Bianca Balzer said
The Channel Nine star was discussing keeping home air conditioner costs down with Today money expert Joel Gibson when he revealed his sexy nickname for himself.
‘Alright, what’s the perfect temperature to be setting the air con to do you reckon,’ Karl asked.
Joel then suggested that the ideal temperature was 23 degrees.
‘You’re not going to like this Karl, but the ideal temperature is around 23 or 24 degrees,’ he said.
‘For a number of reasons – financial reasons – but also, that’s actually the temperature that most people are comfortable at.’
Paul added that while many people will automatically ‘crank’ the temperature down, every degree will add 10 per cent on to household bills over the summer season.
‘A lot of us crank it right down to 18 or 19, but if you start at 23, most people will be comfortable around that level, and every extra degree costs you about 10 per cent more on your bill over the season,’ he said.
‘So 18 or 19 is going to cost you hundreds of dollars more than 23. So start there. If it’s not comfortable, then I’ll let you turn it down a little bit more.’
This revelation did not sit well with Karl, who admitted that when it comes to the boudoir he needs the temperature as low as possible.
‘Happens to all of us as we get older,’ Karl quipped, much to the chagrin of his co-stars
Karl (pictured with his wife Jasmine) is no stranger to leaving his co-hosts cringing with his crude on-air humour
‘I have it 18 in the bedroom, because daddy gets hot,’ Karl cheekily explained.
After dropping his nickname, Karl stared seductively into the camera as his co-host Sarah became visibly uncomfortable.
‘Karl,’ she groaned, before Paul interjected with: ‘Daddy needs to try a ceiling fan.’
Sarah then took umbrage with Paul for encouraging Karl’s cheeky behaviour.
‘Don’t encourage him with the daddy talk, we need to rule it out for 2025. No more daddy talk,’ Sarah said.
Karl appeared impervious to Sarah’s protests, repeating the phrase: ‘Daddy gets hot.’
‘Karl, that’s enough,’ Sarah replied. ‘Please, viewers, help me. No one wants to hear that.’
The cheeky host upped the ante with a risque nod to his wife Jasmine.
‘I know someone who does,’ he said, which was enough for Sarah, who again pleaded with Karl to tone down the ribald banter.
‘Stop it. You are so bad. She does not want to hear that,’ Sarah replied.
