"A joint with friends is fun": Karl Stefanovic on weed, booze and style.

Karl Stefanovic tackles the big issues – and he isn’t afraid to be blunt.

In a candid interview with Sunday Style, Today host Karl Stefanovic has revealed that one of the first times he tried marijuana was at work in a Queensland television studio.

“That was the first time I really had it when it wasn’t just grass clippings,” the 40-year-old presenter told Sunday Style. “I remember someone just handing it to me and saying, ‘Here, you need to loosen up, Preppy’. I had a lot of laughs.

“We do stupid things as adults, but I’ve never thought of that as one of them.”

In an engaging and candid interview, Karl opened up about his vices.

On drinking, he says, “I have fun up until the point I have too much. And I don’t particularly like the person I become.

“I’m a pain in the arse and just talk and talk and talk and talk and talk about myself. It’s almost like being at confession. But as you get older there’s a certain amount of navel-gazing that goes on, and so I don’t drink as much as I used to. I don’t like losing control.”

Reflecting on his 2009 post-Logies show, which went internationally viral, Karl admits he was worried at first.

“There was definitely some serious concern about the ramifications for me at a professional level. I was worried.”

Karl Stefanovic: “No one is buying what you’re selling Prime Minister….

Luckily, the most powerful man in the country came to his aid. (No, not Alan Jones, although he too called Stefanovic that morning to offer his support.)

“No-one knows this, but Tony [Abbott] rang me and he said, ‘Maaate, as someone who, ah, as someone who recently got into trouble for being a little tipsy at a work function, I just want you to know that I sympathise with you.’”

Watch Karl’s infamous post-Logies antics here. 

The ramifications of Karl’s tipsy on-air antics continue at home, however. When asked how he approaches the issue of drinking with his kids, he reveals: “That’s hard. Really hard. I mean, when I say to my 15-year-old son, ‘Don’t go and get pissed,’ he’s like, ‘Dad – where do you want to start on YouTube?’”

When it comes to stealing viewers from Sunrise, Karl has a not-so-secret plan. He has previously told the Daily Mail what he thinks is wrong with Sunrise, “They are so uptight. They have no sense of humour.”

Not so for Karl. “I take huge enjoyment out of making people smile and laugh, and huge enjoyment out of making people feel something,” he says.

“We’re modern-day entertainers, but we also inform and are expected to do great breaking news. And I take that extremely seriously when I’m doing it, as seriously as anyone in the news game. I want to be the best that I can be.”

Does this interview raise Karl in your esteem?