Peter Stefanovic has apologised to Keegan Payne after an outcry erupted over his Sky News interview with the prize-winning teenage angler.
The 19-year-old from Katherine made headlines on Monday after landing a 67 cm barramundi, scoring a $1 million prize.
During a live interview two days after the big win, which Mr Payne said would be life-changing for his large family, Mr Stefanovic ambushed the teenager with questions about allegations he and friends had, as children, stolen a Polaris Ranger and Polaris quad from an NT business, Cav's Mowing.
Mr Payne said it had happened, and that he and his friends "weren't thinking at the time".
Shortly after the interview Mr Payne's old boss - Bob Cavanagh from Cav's Mowing - told Daily Mail Australia that on Wednesday Mr Payne's father rang him with a message from his son.
"Out of the blue this morning, his father rang me and said, 'Keegan wants to repay you,' and you could have knocked me down with a feather," Mr Cavanagh said.
"He said Keegan has always felt so terrible for what he did."
There had been a significant public backlash after the interview, with many critical of Mr Stefanovic for dredging up something in which Mr Payne was involved as a minor rather than celebrating his win. Some noted that the ambush reinforced negative stereotypes about Indigenous teenagers.
On Friday, Sky News Australia published an official apology for raising the matter during the interview.
"On Wednesday 1 May 2024, Sky News Australia broadcast a live interview of Keegan Payne by Peter Stefanovic on First Edition. The interview concerned Mr Payne's win in the Northern Territory's Million Dollar Fish Competition," the apology read.
"During the interview Mr Stefanovic asked Mr Payne questions about claims 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 apologised to his former employer on-air. Mr Payne's former employer subsequently told Sky News Australia that he did not proceed with police charges and had accepted Mr Payne's apology.
"Sky News Australia and Peter Stefanovic apologise to Mr Payne and his family for raising these claims during the live interview about his million dollar win in the fishing competition.
"Mr Stefanovic has reached out to Mr Payne and his family directly to convey his apology."
Mr Payne caught the big barra, which had been tagged as part of a nine-year-long Million Dollar Fish angling competition, in the Katherine River, 317km south of Darwin, while on a fishing trip with his family.
"This is crazy for us. We're a big family. There's eight of us. This is more money than we could ever ask for. This is just great," Mr Payne he said of the win on Tuesday, News.com reported.
"It means so much. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me. I'm happy, really happy. I can buy what I want, maybe help dad and mum out with the home loans."
