Jackie 'O' Henderson has quit Australia's highest-paying radio show, and her co-host Kyle Sandilands has been suspended following an explosive tirade during a live broadcast. Henderson had not co-hosted KIIS FM's Kyle and Jackie O Show since being berated by Sandilands on February 20 as 'being off with the fairies'. During the episode, Sandilands criticised Henderson for her fixation on horoscopes while discussing Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, claiming they made her 'almost unworkable'.
The seven-minute-long exchange, which Henderson described as an attack, led to the program being taken off the air on Tuesday and resulted in a 14-day suspension and potential contract termination for Sandilands. In an ASX announcement, ARN Media said it had issued a written notice to Sandilands, considering his behaviour 'an act of serious misconduct'. Henderson gave notice that 'she cannot continue to work with Mr Sandilands' and will cease co-hosting.
With a broadcast partnership spanning 25 years, Henderson and Sandilands were the undisputed king and queen of the Sydney airwaves. The show had faced multiple controversies over the years. In 2009, it was taken off air after a lie-detector segment where Sandilands asked a teenager who had been raped about her sexual experience. The girl's mother had called in wanting to know if her daughter had experience with sex and drugs.
In 2025, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) chastised the program for 'vulgar, sexually explicit and deeply offensive' content. The ACMA found the program breached the Commercial Radio Code of Practice on 12 occasions, including segments involving urination guessing games, graphic comments about menstruation and oral sex, and discussions of masturbation and pornographic websites.
The pair also narrowly escaped prosecution over on-air comments during the trial of triple-murderer Erin Patterson. Sandilands said 'lock that b***h up', which was condemned by the trial judge, Christopher Beale, who urged commentators 'to engage their brains before they open their mouths'. In 2023, Henderson and Sandilands signed a deal with KIIS FM worth $100 million each over 10 years.
