Karl Stefanovic's podcast business partner Keshnee Kemp launches legal action against the former TV star as he tries to force her out

Karl Stefanovic's podcast business partner has launched urgent Supreme Court action to stop the former TV star from forcing her out of the venture they built together.

Keshnee Ibrahim filed an application in the Supreme Court on Monday seeking to prevent Stefanovic, 52, from removing her as a director of 123 Podcast Pty Ltd at a meeting scheduled for Friday.

Ibrahim is also asking the court to order Stefanovic to buy out her 45 per cent stake in the business at a reasonable market price. 

The legal action marks a dramatic escalation in the breakdown between the pair, who launched The Karl Stefanovic Show podcast earlier this year.

The pair are joint major shareholders in the company, which was registered in February, with each holding an equal 45 per cent.

Anthony Bell, Stefanovic's accountant and business adviser, holds the remaining 10 per cent. He is not involved in the dispute.

Sources say Ibrahim had repeatedly proposed an independent valuation of the business ahead of a potential buyout, but negotiations stalled about a month ago.

The bitter dispute comes after Stefanovic's relationship with Ibrahim broke down in August, following his shock sacking from Nine's Today show on June 25.

Stefanovic lost his job and seven-figure salary after Nine bosses drew a line in the sand over his podcast interview with UK far-right figure Tommy Robinson.

The controversial interview was uploaded to streaming platforms before being removed by 123 Podcast Pty Ltd within days, without further explanation.

Sources familiar with the dispute claim tensions between Stefanovic and Ibrahim escalated rapidly after the episode was published.

Stefanovic has reportedly told associates it was Ibrahim's responsibility to obtain Nine's clearance for the Robinson interview.

But sources for Ibrahim have categorically rejected that claim, saying the interview was Stefanovic's idea.

'Karl himself identified Robinson as a prospective guest and is recorded as being "very keen" to interview him,' a source told news.com.au.

'He has his own lawyers and management and was responsible for his own editorial decisions.'

The dispute comes after Stefanovic allegedly told Ibrahim he wanted to take control of the podcast venture she had helped establish and invested her own money into.

It remains unclear how much money the podcast was generating before it went into hiatus on August 24, when buyout negotiations between the founding shareholders stalled.

The Karl Stefanovic Show had amassed 215,000 YouTube subscribers last week and attracted sponsors including Rode microphones, wellness brand Revive5 and wagering company Neds.

Clothing company Ringers Western, which was also a sponsor, walked away from the podcast earlier this month.

The bitter legal battle is a far cry from earlier this year, when Ibrahim publicly praised her business partner and described him as a 'machine'.

'After getting up at 2.30 in the morning for the Today show and then filming a load of interviews every week, it's a massive workload. Thankfully he just loves it, absolutely loves it,' she told Mumbrella in May.

'We both believe in what it can be, so to see the numbers is reassuring and gives us the energy to keep going at that scale.'

Ibrahim, an accomplished brand marketer, has reportedly played a major role in building the podcast around Stefanovic's existing commitments.

'For the first six months he was still employed full-time by Nine,' a source said, adding that she did 'a significant amount of the work to build and operate the business around Stefanovic and his commitments at Nine'.

Her responsibilities included driving the podcast's business and content strategy, production and episodic planning, as well as managing platforms, sponsorships, marketing and commercial relationships.

Ibrahim, who is a close friend of Stefanovic's wife Jasmine, has an extensive background in TV and publishing. 

She previously edited Who and Cosmopolitan magazines and served as head of video and acting head of digital at Pacific Magazines.

Ibrahim has known Jasmine and her family since childhood after the pair grew up together in Queensland and have remained best mates for decades.

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