Sky News journalist Peter Stefanovic has been forced to apologize to a teenager after confronting him live on air about his troubled past when he won a fishing competition.
Keegan Payne, 19, who lives in the town of Katherine in the central Northern Territory, captured a barramundi that had been released with a tag that could be redeemed for a $1 million prize on Sunday.
However, his joy at winning the fishing competition was marred by a blunt question from Stefanovic about a crime Payne had committed as a 16-year-old, which he admitted.
“There are claims online that you stole a Polaris Ranger and a Polaris quad bike that you and your friends stole from a business a few years ago and damaged it. Is that true in the first place?’ Stefanovic asked from his studio in Sydney during the live interview.
Payne, speaking from the Darwin, simply replied, “Yes.”
“So what happened?” Stefanović asked.
Payne explained that he and his friends “were young,” and “weren’t thinking at the time,” but when the idea came to them, “they went for it.”
Stefanovic asked Payne if he regretted the action and he said he did so “in a big way.”
The question has drawn more scorn than praise from viewers, who complained online.
Now Stefanovic has been forced to apologize.
‘On Wednesday 1 May 2024, Sky News Australia broadcast a live interview with Keegan Payne by Peter Stefanovic on First Edition. The interview was about Mr Payne’s victory in the Northern Territory Million Dollar Fish Competition,” the apology said.
“During the interview, Mr Stefanovic questioned Mr Payne about claims that he had been involved in the theft of a Polaris Ranger and Polaris Quad from his former employer in 2021.
‘Mr Payne confirmed the claims and apologized to his former employer during the broadcast. Mr Payne’s former employer subsequently told Sky News Australia he did not follow through with the police and had accepted Mr Payne’s apology.
‘Sky News Australia and Peter Stefanovic apologize to Mr Payne and his family for making these claims during the live interview about his million dollar fishing competition win
Sky News presenter Peter Stefanovic has been criticized by those who say he ruined the teenager’s moment
Keegan Payne (pictured center left) gets emotional as he announces the catch of the million dollar fish
Daily Mail Australia can reveal the teenager has reconnected with his old boss, Bob Cavanagh of Cav’s Mowing, and has offered to pay him back for the stolen vehicles.
“This morning his dad called me out of the blue and said, ‘Keegan wants to pay you back,’ and you could have knocked me out with a feather,” Cavanagh said.
“He said Keegan always felt so terrible for what he did.”
Cavanagh took Keegan on as a laborer for his ground maintenance company when he was 15.
But during the Covid lockdowns, Cavanagh decided to move to Queensland, leaving his equipment unattended.
Keegan and a friend took the opportunity to steal his quad bike and buggy.
“They were only sixteen, you know. Not many of us go through life without getting into trouble somewhere,” Cavanagh said.
“If you can get a second chance, I was willing to do it for those two guys. I hope they made the best of it.
“There’s no point in going through this life with grudges.”
Cavanagh said the theft was a “one-off” mistake by an otherwise “good boy.”