Tommy Robinson has insisted he was repeatedly sniffing and fidgeting during his now-deleted interview with Australian TV presenter Karl Stefanovic because of hay fever, after viewers began speculating online about his behaviour in the clip.
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, appeared on The Karl Stefanovic Show in an interview that caused immediate fallout in Australia. ABC News reported the clip was pulled from social media and podcast platforms after criticism that it gave the British far-right activist an unchallenged platform. Stefanovic praised Robinson’s “tenacity and courage” while covering migration, media and free speech. But once clips began circulating, attention shifted rapidly from what Robinson said to how he appeared while saying it.
A viral post described him as “a VERY sniffy boy” and noted that numerous former associates had alleged cocaine use. The clip showed Robinson sniffing repeatedly, shifting in his seat and wiping his nose.
The response
He was not impressed. Responding on X to one person who suggested he was on drugs, he wrote: “It’s called hay fever you dumb b*tch.” He later posted a photo of medication on a car seat and added: “I got these in Russia to help me with it. I have no idea why I’m explaining myself to this nobody.”
So that is his explanation: hay fever, not cocaine. Russian hay fever medication, specifically.
Why the speculation didn’t stay quiet
The cocaine suggestion did not emerge from nowhere. It landed because Robinson has spent years followed by allegations from former associates about drug use, donations and what exactly has funded his operation. The Independent reported in 2021 that former allies accused him of misusing supporter donations, with one former employee, Caolan Robertson, alleging that money had been withdrawn in cash and used to pay people connected to cocaine and nights out. Robinson denied using cocaine and said money had been moved into a business account for operations including travel, accommodation, filming and security.
That denial matters legally and factually. It is not proven that Robinson was using cocaine during the Stefanovic interview. His explanation is hay fever. People do get hay fever. People do sniff when they have it. But when a man with that history appears on camera repeatedly sniffing and wiping his nose, viewers are going to make the connection – and posting Russian nasal spray from a car seat while calling someone a “dumb b*tch” is not necessarily the most persuasive rebuttal.
Who Tommy Robinson actually is
For anyone who has somehow missed the last decade and a half of British politics: Robinson first came to prominence through the English Defence League, the street movement he helped found in 2009, taking the name from a Luton Town football hooligan. He has since rebranded as an independent journalist while continuing to focus heavily on Muslims, grooming gangs and immigration.
His legal history is extensive. He has convictions for violence, public order offences, financial and immigration fraud, stalking, harassment of journalists and contempt of court. He was jailed in 2024 after admitting contempt for repeating false claims about Syrian refugee Jamal Hijazi despite an injunction banning him from doing so, and was ordered to pay Hijazi £100,000 in damages.
He also spent time in Moscow where he told his followers to take to the streets of Belfast, meeting Elon Musk’s father and telling his audience that Russia was “not the enemy of Britain.” He was detained at Heathrow under counter-terrorism laws on his return.
The Stefanovic problem
That is the man Stefanovic decided to platform. Not just someone with controversial views. Not a free speech guest who had been unfairly silenced. A man with a history of spreading false claims, losing libel cases, breaching court injunctions and presenting himself as a victim every time accountability catches up with him.
The interview was supposed to help him. Stefanovic’s uncritical tone drew criticism precisely because it did not challenge Robinson on his record. Instead, the row about the platform consumed the story, and the sniffing clip consumed what remained.
The pattern
There is something extremely Tommy Robinson about how the whole thing unfolded. A clip goes viral. People question him. He lashes out. He posts evidence and says he has no idea why he is explaining himself – while explaining himself to hundreds of thousands of followers. He wants to be the hard man who does not care what critics say, while furiously responding to critics. He wants to be too important to answer “nobodies”, while answering them anyway. He wants the attention but not the scrutiny that comes with it.
His supporters will say this is an attempt to smear him and distract from his argument. His critics will say it is another example of a man with a long record of grievance and ugly politics getting exactly the scrutiny he deserves.
The only solid facts are these: viewers noticed his behaviour, people speculated about drugs, Robinson denied it and blamed hay fever, and past reports document cocaine-related allegations from former associates that he has also denied.
Whether posting Russian nasal spray from a car seat and calling someone a “dumb b*tch” closes that chapter is a matter of judgment. On the dignity front it is not an obvious win.
The reaction? Well, they speak for themselves..
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