The host then pulled out a picture of Hugo Weaving's drag queen character from Priscilla: Queen of the Desert.



"The other thing is Chris, I know that you have gone to see the police about this tranny. We have a [picture] made up and we know they don’t all look the same," he said. "Is that the tranny they are talking about it? Christine sent me that on email."



The gender identity of Ahern's attackers is unknown. However, "tranny" is a slur most often used to insult and delegitimise transgender women.

While not all transgender people reject the term "tranny", it is not a respectful term for people outside the community to use.



Transvestite is an outdated term for men who dress as women for entertainment or pleasure. It is not the same thing as being a transgender woman.

"Do not use the word 'transvestite' at all, unless someone specifically self-identifies that way," reads the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation media guide.

The guide describes "tranny" as a word that "dehumanises transgender people", and should not be used in mainstream media.

On Thursday afternoon Stefanovic apologised for the incident on Twitter, saying it was "complete ignorance".