Peter Stefanovic is slammed for asking ‘harsh’ question during interview with teen who had just won $1million: ‘Grub’

Sky News journalist Peter Stefanovic may have forced an apology from a young million-dollar winner for a criminal act, but the question has drawn more scorn than praise from viewers.

Keegan Payne, 19, who lives in the town of Katherine in the central Northern Territory, caught a barramundi in the Katherine River on Sunday that had been released with a tag that could be redeemed for a $1 million prize.

However, his joy at winning the nine-year, million-dollar fishing competition was marred by a blunt question from Mr Stefanovic about a crime Payne 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. First of all, is that true?’, Mr Stefanovic asked from the Sydney studio during the live interview.

Payne, speaking from the Darwin, simply replied, “Yes.”

“So, what happened?” asked Mr Stefanovic.

Payne explained that he and his friends were “young and not 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.”

Social media users were unimpressed with some claiming Stefanovic ruined Payne’s happiness.

‘Reporter hears good news. Goes out of his way to dig up dirt and be negative,” one person wrote.

‘He made a mistake and took the consequences and was forgiven long before this victory!!!!!’ said another.

“S***ty reporting as usual,” another commented.

One Australian asked why people couldn’t be happy for this child?’

‘No one is perfect, but to shame him on TV? Talk about ripping the rug out from under him! Stop kicking people back when they’re moving forward!

‘Shows the mentality of dips*ts who like to ruin the happiness of others!

Some thought Payne didn’t get a chance to make amends.

‘He’s a young lad trying to correct his mistakes and that’s okay, it just shows that it helps more than just him and his family, and that’s good of him to make the first contact to correct it, since he can actually do that,” one person said. said.

“Hats off to the boy for turning his life around by realizing that the path he was on was a dead end and that his life has more value than to him as a thief,” wrote another.

Another simply called Stefanovic a “grub.”

Sky News presenter Peter Stefanovic has been criticized by those who say he ruined the teenager’s moment

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.”

Mr Cavanagh took Keegan on as a laborer for his ground maintenance company when he was 15.

But during the Covid lockdowns, Mr 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. There aren’t many of us who go through life without screwing something up somewhere along the way,” Mr 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.”

Mr Cavanagh said the theft was a ‘one-off’ mistake by an otherwise ‘good boy’.