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Kyle Sandilands, the controversial radio host, is set to face a crucial court appearance, with a $100 million contract hanging in the balance.
The popular yet divisive figure is taking legal action against his former employer, ARN, in the Federal Court. Sandilands argues that his contract termination was unjust, claiming there was no significant misconduct to warrant such an action.
Furthermore, he alleges that his termination violated Australian Consumer Law.
ARN, which owns KIIS FM and aired Sandilands’ show for over ten years, has stated it will challenge these allegations in court.
The lawsuit also involves ARN’s subsidiary, the Commonwealth Broadcasting Corporation.
ARN tore up Sandilands’ $100 million contract after the shock jock’s on-air clash with co-host Jackie “Jackie O” Henderson ended their time together on the long-running show.
The Kyle and Jackie O Show was a consistent ratings hit in Sydney but had failed to gain much traction in its expansion to Melbourne and Brisbane.
The split came after Sandilands slammed his broadcast partner for looking into former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s horoscope.
“You’re off with the fairies … every segment, every time you’ve spoken, you don’t even know what’s going on,” Sandilands said to Henderson during the February 20 broadcast.
ARN said Henderson gave notice she could no longer work with her co-host, triggering an early March decision to terminate her $100 million agreement.
Sandilands was suspended on March 3 and issued a breach notice for serious misconduct.
He has consistently denied breaching the terms of his contract.
Details of the on-air blow-up that derailed Kyle and Jackie O’s $200 million deal
The on-air fight began after Jackie O read from Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s astrology birth chart and Sandilands complained about her interest in astrology charts.”Your fixation on this has made you almost unworkable,” Sandilands told her.
“You are off with the fairies with this s—, it’s mental.”He claimed her fixation on astrology charts made her sound like a “drug addict”.
Henderson has previously opened up on air about addiction issues that led to her going to rehabilitation in the US in 2022.
Henderson said Sandiland’s accusations were “so unfair” and that he was attacking her on air.
“I would never say things like that about you,” she said.
“It’s a total attack, it really is. Kyle, to say ‘you don’t know what the F is going on, you’re not doing your job,’ that’s an attack and I wouldn’t do that.”
Sandilands and Henderson have been in an on-air partnership for 27 years.
They moved to breakfast in 2005 and then to KIIS in 2014.
They have been under contract in a lucrative $200 million, 10-year deal that was set to run until December 2034.
Kyle Sandilands’ statement in full
ARN has just announced that they’ve terminated my contract.
My lawyers told them last week this would be invalid. And guess what? It is.
Let me tell you what actually happened here. Jackie and I had a blue on air. That’s it. The kind of thing we’ve done a hundred times in 25 years. And ARN took the situation and decided to try and burn the place down. They sacked Jackie. They suspended me. They wouldn’t even let me pick up the phone to call her or anyone else on the show. Then — and this is the bit that gets me — once they’d made it impossible for the show to go on, they turn around and say, “You didn’t fix it. You’re fired!”
I said sorry to Jackie the night of our blow-up. And when I said I was sorry to Jackie, I meant it. I still mean it. But it doesn’t mean I will stand by while I am separated from the people who’ve listened to me every morning for 25 years.
Before they suspended me, ARN said, “Let us handle it,” and I listened. In the two weeks since, I’ve done everything ARN asked. I said, put me back on air. I’ll work with Jackie. I’ll work with someone else. Whatever you need. Every single time – “no.” They weren’t interested. They didn’t want to fix this. They thought they saw a chance to get out of the contract they signed with me a year ago, and they ran with it.
ARN knew exactly what they were getting when they signed my deal. They’ve worked with me for over a decade. They knew how I work, they knew the show, and they were happy to pay for it —because I delivered. Number one ratings. Year after year. Hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for their business. I held up my end. I always have.
So, you tell me — why would ARN prefer to breach a contract and pay the legal consequences rather than honour the contract and pay me to do what I do best? That’s the bit that doesn’t make sense.
I’ve got a contract until 2034. I’ve got rights under that contract. And ARN hasn’t honoured the contract.
So, it’s over to my lawyers.
To the people who tune in every morning — you lot are the reason I’ve done this for 25 years. You didn’t get a say in this. Neither did I. But my lawyers will. I’m not done. Not by a long way.
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