Kyle Sandilands sparks panic as he threatens to quit his radio show live on air – after he and co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson are slapped with strict new broadcasting conditions: ‘I’m happy to leave’
Kyle Sandilands has threatened to quit his hugely popular radio show after strict licence conditions were enforced on Australian Radio Network (ARN).
The host, 54, blamed activist group Mad F***ing Witches for the attention his show has attracted from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
He accused the group of encouraging people to submit complaints against The Kyle and Jackie O Show, and admitted he had lost the drive to fight for his show.
‘This activist group… These three old ladies, they want us finished. They want me to stop broadcasting,’ he said on his radio show on Thursday morning.
‘I’m in this position now where I think: they can’t get rid of me for another 9.3 years or they [ARN] have to pay, no matter what.
‘So, do I just think, “Oh, it’s not worth the fight, I might as well hang up the headphones.” Finish this. I don’t need to fight.’
Kyle Sandilands, 54, has threatened to quit his hugely popular radio show after strict licence conditions were enforced on Australian Radio Network (ARN)
Kyle and his co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson signed a 10-year contract extension with the ASX-listed company in 2023 that was said to be worth more than $200million.
‘I could finish work today and live happily ever after. Raise my child. Maybe buy a castle in France,’ he continued.
Kyle went on to say he no longer cares enough to ‘fight back’, adding: ‘I’m happy to leave.’
Newsreader and producer Brooklyn Ross said: ‘I don’t want you to leave.’
‘I don’t really want to leave. I enjoy this,’ Kyle replied.
‘But when you are up against someone and you are handcuffed, and they are encouraged to throw rocks at you with no repercussions, what’s the point?’
Kyle’s threats to leave incited panic among listeners as a producer then revealed: ‘We’ve got a full board of callers.’
The shock jock and Jackie O, 50, listened to what a few of the callers had to say, with many of them begging Kyle not to leave radio.
He accused an activist group of encouraging people to submit false complaints against The Kyle & Jackie O Show, and admitted he had lost the drive to fight for his show. Pictured with co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson
‘You guys save me from me every morning… I’ve got stuff going on at home. I jump in the car and I listen to you guys… I want you to fight for us, Kyle,’ said one listener.
‘You guys are the backbone of that show you guys got going,’ added another.
It comes after Australia’s media watchdog slapped KIIS FM with strict new licence conditions following a series of on-air controversies.
The ACMA announced the ruling on Wednesday after determining Kyle and Jackie O repeatedly breached decency standards with crude and sexually explicit content.
The tough new conditions require the show to avoid broadcasting material deemed ‘highly offensive’ or containing ‘strong and explicit sexual references’ that would offend a reasonable listener.
In its statement, ACMA said: ‘A sexual reference can be any single reference within the program and does not need to be recurring throughout the program… including spoken words, innuendo or sound effects that would be understood as having a sexual meaning.’
ACMA also ordered KIIS FM’s licensee, Double T Radio Pty Ltd, to commission an independent audit of its governance framework by a compliance expert.
