Channel Nine reporter Christine Ahern was mugged on Rio's Copacabana Beach on Wednesday, shortly after landing in Brazil on assignment to cover the Olympics.
The reporter revealed to 3AW that she, her cameraman, Glen and their security guard were accosted while trying film a news segment.
"There were police on the corner and I walked past them and felt pretty safe... but it all happened in a flash. There was a group of transvestites and one came straight for my cameraman Glen. They tried to get the bag which contained the camera, and that's when our security guard intervened."
But when she appeared on the Today Show on Thursday morning, all Karl Stefanovic seemed interested in was making a joke out of the transvestite component of the story. Repeatedly. Using the word "tranny". Again and again.
Here are Karl's comments:
"Glenny (the cameraman) is no stranger, as we all know, to the ways of the tranny."
"As I said Glenny's no stranger to the ways of the tranny."
When Sylvia Jeffries pointed out that the cameraman would have faced tougher confrontations in his Queensland home town of Rockhampton, Karl added: "Exactly... tougher trannies".
"Chris, look, I know you've gone to see the police about this tranny... we've got a comfit made up. I know not all trannies look the same...
"Is that the tranny there that we're talking about? It's Hugo Weaving-like... so is that what the tranny looks like?"
Christine Ahern did not respond to the line of questioning, but Karl now has. On Thursday he issued an apology.