Karl Stefanovic left squirming over Peter Dutton's swipe at Lisa Wilkinson

He’s remained mostly silent since his former co-host Lisa Wilkinson released her tell-all memoir about her time alongside him on the Today show, but Karl Stefanovic was left squirming in his seat when Peter Dutton appeared to take aim at their ‘feud’ on the show.

Lisa Wilkinson’s highly anticipated autobiography, It Wasn’t Meant To Be Like This, was released this week, where she talks about everything from her dismissal from the morning show in 2017, to the gender pay gap she experienced and the downfall of her friendship with Karl.

Lisa told her The Project co-host Hamish McDonald in an interview on the show that she felt “hurt” by Karl and “betrayed” by her former employer, Channel Nine.

She also claimed her former co-host gave her the 'cold shoulder' after declining an invite to her and her husband's wedding vow renewal ceremony at the eleventh hour in 2017.

Throughout the last few weeks, Lisa’s book hasn’t been mentioned on the Today show, that is until now.

RELATED:

• Lisa Wilkinson dishes on Karl Stefanovic's divorce: 'Disgusting to witness'

• Lisa Wilkinson and Karl Stefanovic: The scandal that tore the Today show apart

• Lisa Wilkinson's memoir sparks bold response from Karl: 'Absolute horse****'

Defence Minister Peter Dutton appeared on the political segment of the show on Friday morning, where he appeared to take a thinly veiled swipe at Lisa Wilkinson while he was slamming former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

“If I’m being truthful, I think it’s sad – you see examples in politics, even in media, where some people lose their jobs, they go away and they’re bitter, they’re disaffected – some of them, like Malcolm, even write books … and they're more fiction than fact,” Peter Dutton said.

“That’s a sad case for people, I think people just need to move on. You don’t want people making up facts, and being embittered, and forever sort of nasty and spiteful … It’s not a good reflection on them and it diminishes from their own career, whether it’s in politics … or in media.”

Karl could be heard awkwardly giggling in the background before the camera panned to the clearly shocked host, who was speechless for a few seconds.

Labor’s Richard Marles, who was also participating in the segment, looked to be in fits of laughter as Karl threw his hands up into the air and simply said “eek”.

“Good to talk to you guys, have a great week,” Karl eventually said, while laughing.

Karl was quizzed on The Kyle and Jackie O Show about whether or not he was concerned about how he would be portrayed in Lisa book.

"No mate, you know what, Lisa and I had 10 years together right, and I think in any kind of working relationship there are going to be ups and downs and those things are heightened with breakfast TV," he said.

Karl added that he thinks Lisa has "every right to go and say and do whatever she likes," and that he has 'bigger things' on his mind than feeling anxious about an ex-colleague's book.

He did, however, admit that he isn't an 'easy guy to work with' and seemed prepared to cop any criticism coming his way.

"I think there are things that have happened over those 10 years that aren't going to read well," he said.

Despite making headlines for the past few months, Karl, 47, is apparently 'thriving' and eyeing off a 'plumped up' deal with Nine as well as a chance at replacing Ben Fordham as host on Australian Ninja Warrior.

"The thing about Karl is that he thrives during these situations,' the source claims. 'It seems Lisa's long-anticipated book release may have backfired - Karl has never had so much fan mail," a source told New Idea on Monday.

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