Last night, long-time host of the Today show Lisa Wilkinson announced that she has left the breakfast program, and will be joining Ten’s The Project in a senior hosting role.
Reports say that her shock exit was due to a pay gap dispute. A press release from Nine read they couldn’t reach an agreement with Lisa and her manager on a contract renewal.
This morning, members of Today (including co-host Karl Stefanovic and Sylvia Jeffreys) led tributes to the 57-year-old’s 10 wonderful years with the breakfast program.
Karl said: “For now, just this Lisa. Thank you! Thank you for the laughs, the sage advice, the calmness! Oh, the calmness! And thank you for all of your support. Thanks for being a great dancer and a truly, truly terrible singer. Thanks for being a great mum.”
“I know you value that more than anything else. And thank you for being a great friend. The rest I will leave for when I see you. But whatever you do and wherever you go, you do so having made your mark on this show and this man. And mostly you go with my love, lots of love, all my love.”
So, as she says goodbye to her Today family, we look back at her funniest, sassiest moments over the years.
When she ripped apart Fifty Shades
Lisa is very much an advocate for women’s rights and she wanted to make that clear by denouncing the erotic 2015 flick, Fifty Shades of Grey. Her scathing review of the movie had us clapping in loud agreement.
“Fifty Shades of Grey is more appalling than appealing, it’s domestic violence dressed up as erotica,” she mused. Watch the clip below to see her full takedown.
When she had a mammogram on air
As an ambassador for National Breast Cancer Foundation, Lisa confessed that she was overdue for a mammogram. After hearing a story that Good Morning America host Amy Robach got tested on-air only to discover she had breast cancer, Lisa and co-host Georgie Gardner had the test done themselves.
Lisa was tested live.
When a kids game got, er, X-rated
In the days of the Nintendo Wii, Lisa and Karl decided to test out the Winter Olympics sport ‘curling’ on the device. We guess the segment didn’t turn out quite the way producers expected. Read: meme gold.
Speaking about the viral moment, she told News.com.au: “I was about halfway through when I realised what it must have looked like to viewers at home. It’s only when you see the video that you realise what was going on … It’s one of the two videos from the 10 years I’ve been on the show that’s gone viral.”
When she gave Olivia Newton-John a run for her money
To raise money for charity during the Gold Week Telethon in 2012, Karl and Lisa dressed up in their best Sandy and Danny attire and sang their whole rendition of Grease‘s ‘Summer Nights’. Any woman that can sing like that (not well, to be honest) on national television deserves a medal.
It’s clear Lisa wanted to really commit to playing Sandy – four years later, the whole Today cast did a rendition of the Grease Megamix (complete with a blonde wig worn by Lisa).
When her reaction was priceless
Lisa and Karl’s stunned reaction to a video of a great white shark leaping out of the ocean was hilarious. Watching the clip and hearing Lisa say “stuff summer” still gives us the giggles.
When she grilled our Prime Minister
Never one to shy away from asking the hard questions, Lisa had a heated debate with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull about a refugee resettlement he had signed. Lisa pressed him about how many refugees the US promised to take from Naura and Manus Island in the deal, but the PM refused to give details. What followed was a tense exchange, proving that Lisa can keep cool and calm under pressure. Watch the interview below:
When she shut down fashion critics
Following a story by the Daily Mail that drew attention to the fact she had worn the same blouse twice in four months, Lisa clapped back. She tweeted:
