Jackie “O” Henderson has sensationally quit her KIIS FM radio show.
The star made the choice to walk away from the most lucrative contract in Australian media after falling out with her co-star, Kyle Sandilands.
In a statement on March 3, ARN Media Limited – which owns the radio KIIS FM – confirmed Jackie had made the decision she “cannot continue to work with Mr Sandilands”.
“Accordingly, ARN has terminated the services agreement with Henderson Media Pty Ltd, under which Ms Henderson presents the Kyle and Jackie O show,” the statement confirmed.
The partnership ends effective immediately.
The statement also confirmed that Kyle will be taken off the air for 14 days. The network has issued a written notice to Kyle, stating it considered his conduct “an act of serious misconduct”, which was in breach of his contract.
The pair were signed onto a 10-year contract worth a reported $200 million with ARN Media. The bombshell development followed Jackie storming off the show on February 20 during an on-air blow-up with her co-host over her psychic beliefs.
Why were Kyle and Jackie O fighting?
On February 20, the radio hosts got into a heated argument over something so trivial: Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s astrology birth chart. Yes, it really was that random.
As Jackie O read out the disgraced royal’s astrology chart, Kyle began shutting it down, saying her love for the celestial world has made her “almost unworkable,” adding: “You are off with the fairies with this s–t, it’s mental.”
Despite sharing her hurt at his comments, Kyle doubled down and went on to say that she is like a “drug addict” when it comes to astrology charts, a sore spot indeed for Jackie O, who has been open about her struggles with addiction throughout her career.
“You are not doing the rest of the job, and everyone in this building has mentioned it to me,” Kyle added. “Everyone has said, ‘What’s going on with Jackie? She’s off today.'”
“You don’t know what the f–k is going on all the time, because you’re looking at that phone, playing in the stars, and it’s ridiculous,” before concluding with: “You can enjoy that, but you can’t take over your whole life.”
Has Jackie O quit the show for good?
Yes. Jackie O temporarily stepped away from her breakfast show after the on-air clash on February 20, which was then extended for another week, before news hit on March 3 that the pair were over for good.
In the statement released by ARN, they shared that Jackie had given notice that she “cannot continue to work with Mr Kyle Sandilands” and would no longer present the Kyle and Jackie O Show.
A day earlier, the shock jock had said he was as in the dark about the whole situation as the listeners, saying he was sure Jackie would return soon.
Last Wednesday, Kyle admitted that he regretted the way he spoke to her.
“I obviously upset her and maybe in hindsight I shouldn’t have said it on the air, but we say a lot of things on the air here,” he said.
“It’s never meant to hurt her feelings and obviously it did, and I regret hurting her feelings. No one wants to hurt someone, especially someone you care for.”
He also responded to rumours that it was all a publicity stunt, joking that they “don’t put that much effort into anything”.
Entertainment reporter Peter Ford spoke to The Morning Show on March 2, revealing that most sources he’d spoken to “don’t think she’s going to return”.
He claimed that Jackie’s best friend and manager, Gemma O’Neil, met with radio bosses last week and told them that Jackie feels “unsafe in the workplace”.
“There’s every chance that $200m contract could be ripped up and binned,” Peter added the day before ARN’s statement was made confirming that that was indeed the case.
Peter Ford shared another update on Sunrise on the same day, revealing that he still believes Jackie is unlikely to return and has even “sought legal advice” to see “what her options might be”.
“I’m hearing Jackie O feels she has to take a stand here and she has to do it to show that you do not have to be demeaned and belittled in your workplace as she was on that particular day when Kyle gave her that dressing down.”
“I think Jackie wants to take a stand to show her daughter, Kitty, that you don’t have to put up with it.”
What’s happened to Kyle Sandilands?
In the statement on March 3, ARN also announced that Kyle’s behaviour during the show on February 20 was “an act of serious misconduct” and was in breach of his contract.
“Mr Sandilands has been given 14 days to remedy this breach,” ARN said, adding that Kyle will not be allowed on air during that time.
If the breach is not remedied, they noted, Kyle will be sacked and will “cease to present The Kyle and Jackie O Show.”
ARN said that the KIIS FM breakfast show, which airs in Sydney and Melbourne, will be taken off-air effective immediately and another show put on in the interim.
Inside Kyle and Jackie O’s working relationship
Kyle and Jackie O have been friends for nearly three decades and have hosted their famous radio show, The Kyle and Jackie O Show, together since 2004.
The pair had huge success together with their show continuously ranking as Sydney’s top-rated breakfast radio show. Their segment is also a nine-time winner and 36-time finalist of the Australian Commercial Radio Awards.
Jackie has consistently stood by him throughout his controversies, and there have been many! However, that is not to say she hasn’t also benefitted from from his outrageous personality, as it is no doubt a huge factor in their audience appeal. Let’s take a look back at some of Kyle’s most infamous moments.
Kyle’s most controversial moments
Kyle is nothing short of a PR’s worst nightmare – he says what he wants, when he wants, and often simply because it is the most divisive take. He may not have finished High School, but he’s smart enough to know that people love a villain.
That theory has worked out for him thus far, with a modern mansion in LA, a newly renovated holiday home in Port Douglas, and a 160-acre farm in the Southern Highlands. Kyle has done well for himself… despite nearly being cancelled one million times!
Some of Kyle’s closes calls include:
- The Lie Detector Incident: in 2009, during a live segment on The Kyle and Jackie O Show, a 14-year-old girl (who Kyle claimed he thought was 17) was subjected to a lie detector test. During the test she got emotional and revealed she had been raped at age 12, to which Kyle responded: “Right… is that the only [sexual] experience you’ve had?”
- Concentration Camp Comments: In 2009, following actress Magda Szubanski’s weight loss, Kyle suggested on-air that she should be put in a “concentration camp” to lose more weight.
- Virgin Mary Comments : In 2009, Kyle got in hot water again for crudely describing the Virgin Mary as a “liar who got knocked up behind a camel shed.”
- Ableist Slurs: Throughout his career Kyle has used offensive terms like “spastics” and “retards.”
- Monkeypox Comments: In 2022, Kyle was actually investigated by ACMA for suggesting monkeypox was a “big gay disease”.
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