Stefanovics’ stupid Uber chat bros your mind
FORGET the frosty relations between Today hosts Karl Stefanovic and Georgie Gardner.
The real tension has to be brother versus brother.
I mean, WHY would Peter Stefanovic be conducting the mother of all bitchfests with his big bro in the back of an Uber … on loudspeaker?
That’s like having phone sex with my husband during afternoon carpool. Wrong, stupid and resulting in some very awkward conversations afterwards.
Well, I assume so anyway. I’d never actually do something so ridiculous. Not now the fines are so high for driving with a mobile device.
To be honest, I don’t think Peter and Karl are alone in slagging off pretty much everyone they work with. (Not that I would ever do that, guys … guys?)
However, this is possibly the first time a woman has been criticised for not having ENOUGH opinions. Women: we can’t win.
But as the saying goes, if you haven’t got anything nice to say … don’t say it on loudspeaker in the back of an Uber with a morally and financially bankrupt driver.
Peter and Karl were undeniably cruel, but, more than that, they were foolish and foolhardy.
They’re a couple of dumb bros who got caught out gossiping thanks to flawed execution.
The first rule of stabbing someone in the back is ensuring their back is actually turned. Instead, the Stefanovics may as well have livestreamed the convo on their new YouTube channel, Bros Behaving Badly.
It certainly would have saved New Idea the $50k payoff to the driver.
Actually, what the boys need – like so many of us – is a digital divorce.
Now this may be confusing for Karl, coming on the back of his actual marital separation from Cassandra Thorburn and the inevitable split looming with work wife Georgie.
No, this is enacting a digital divide between family and devices.
Personal communications should be … well, personal. As in person-to-person, face-toface – no, that does not include Facebook.
And, lest he be caught out again, he needs to take ownership not just of his social media channels but his devices and his interactions.
Of course, given his Gen-X age, he may need to first understand how these work. (He’s my husband’s age so I well understand his special needs.)
For example, when you’re on loudspeaker, it means other people can hear you.
Emails are also an absolute no-go … do not ever put anything more than 280 characters in writing.
When you do Tweet or post something on Facebook or Insta, ensure it is by your hand only. Do not allow anyone else access. Not your partner and certainly not your sibling.
This is your forum for direct communication with the world, so don’t leave it to a 21-year-old PR intern to do your dirty work either.
However, do feel free to blame them when you Tweet something stupid. Or, you know, marry them when you get tired of your partner.
And speaking of marriage, let’s not forget the fruits of that union. While the latest professional advice recommends children not be given a personal phone until at least the age of 14, they should never, ever be given access to your accounts.
My daughter was four and could barely read but still managed to tweet a horrific #mumselfie on the ABC home page, where I worked at the time. Let’s just say her ears are still burning from that loudspeaker conversation with my husband.
While the Stefanovics’ uber Uber embarrassment is well beyond that of us plebs, the fact is that if we don’t take responsibility for our digital footprint, we’ll end up with that foot in our mouth.
My aunt and uncle recently took steps to ensure their six decade-long union would continue until death does them part. How? Via a trip to the Apple store.
She was tired of his random apps appearing on her screen and he couldn’t take another crazy cat video.
And so it was that they separated their Apple IDs, created individual accounts and one became two. So that two can still be one.
It’s an equation that might add up for Nine.
Read Ann Wason Moore every Tuesday and Saturday in the