Kyle Sandilands Accused of Berating Kiis FM Executives and Listeners in Federal Court Documents
According to federal court documents, shock jock Kyle Sandilands repeatedly berated Kiis FM executives, the radio station's censors, critics of the Kyle and Jackie O Show, and the Melbourne audience in expletive-laden rants. These alleged tirades occurred months before Sandilands was sacked and accused of "serious misconduct" by ARN, the parent company of Kiis FM.
Alleged Rants and Legal Claims
The details are contained in ARN's defence against an $85 million claim filed by Sandilands. The defence alleges that Sandilands called activist group Mad Fucking Witches (MFW) "dangerous lunatics," denigrated in-house censors for using the dump button, and referred to ARN executives as "pussies." MFW, a grassroots activist group, launched a community campaign targeting Sandilands, which successfully damaged Kiis FM's advertising revenue.
In one instance, Sandilands reportedly said about MFW, "I'll have [private investigators] following everyone they've ever known till I find some shit on these folks. I think they're Mothers For Wokeness, MFW. They're a bunch of lunatics. They're actually very threatening."
Attacks on Melbourne Audience and Management
ARN also claims in the documents that Sandilands denigrated the show's Melbourne audience and attacked management for efforts to increase the program's popularity in that market. He allegedly stated, "Here's something I haven't even discussed with Jackie. If we don't rate better by the end of this year, I'm pulling the carpet out. I'll just take the show off Melbourne. You can suck my dick."
Further, Sandilands asserted that ARN had "no control whatsoever over what we do on this show" and told the censor, "Don't go bleeping this shit out or you censors will have no job." He emphasized, "Let me explain one more time, the bosses have no control whatsoever over what we do on this show. Zero. None. Jackie and I ... it starts and ends with what we want to do."
On-Air Dispute and Legal Actions
The dispute originated from an on-air argument between Sandilands and his co-host, Jackie "O" Henderson, over her interest in astrology. Henderson walked off the breakfast show after Sandilands gave her a dressing down that brought her to tears. She informed ARN that she could no longer work with her on-air partner of 25 years, leading to the termination of her contract.
Henderson has also launched legal action, seeking compensation of "at least $82,250,000" for the wrongful termination of her 10-year contract. She alleges she was subjected to "degrading" comments by Sandilands on air. According to the defence, during their final appearance together, Sandilands told Henderson, "I've been carrying this whole show for a fucking year ... I'm just left here with a limp dick in my hand."
ARN's Cross-Claim and Regulatory Issues
ARN has filed a cross-claim against both Sandilands and Henderson, alleging that Sandilands breached his $100 million, 10-year contract through his behaviour, which caused Henderson to refuse to present with him. The cross-claim states, "As a consequence [ARN has] suffered loss or damage in the form of lost advertising revenue, or lost profits." ARN is seeking damages from the pair for breach of their separate $100 million contracts and loss of advertising revenue.
In its defence, ARN noted that it directed Sandilands to comply with the broadcasting code after the Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma) threatened additional licence conditions due to repeated breaches of the decency provision. In March, Acma ruled that any Kiis FM program hosted by the pair must not air strong sexual content for the next five years, or ARN could face penalties, including licence cancellation, though this came after the duo were taken off air.
Henderson's Distress and ARN's Response
ARN argued in a separate defence that if Henderson suffered pain, hurt, humiliation, or distress from Sandilands, it was not caused by any alleged breaches of workplace law by ARN. The company stated it had "no ability or power" to prevent Sandilands from engaging in bullying towards Henderson. Henderson's lawyers claimed she could no longer work with Sandilands due to being "attacked and bullied on live prime time radio," but ARN contended that her contract terms meant she had no right to refuse to work with him and demand another show.
Justice Angus Stewart will hold a joint case management hearing on Friday morning, despite the applicants filing separate cases against ARN. The hearing will be livestreamed on the federal court YouTube channel.
