Jackie 'O' Henderson has announced she is leaving the Kyle and Jackie O Show, ending a 25-year broadcast partnership with co-host Kyle Sandilands. The decision follows an on-air tirade by Sandilands on February 20, after which Henderson took more than a week off.
ARN Media, owner of KIIS FM, confirmed in an ASX announcement that Henderson 'has given notice she cannot continue to work with Mr Sandilands.' The network stated the show would be taken off-air effective immediately.
ARN issued a written notice to Sandilands, deeming his conduct 'an act of serious misconduct' in breach of his contract. He has been suspended for 14 days to remedy the breach or cease presenting the show.
The conflict erupted when the pair discussed the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Henderson mentioned doing a fixed star astrology chart, prompting Sandilands to say her 'fixation' made her 'almost unworkable.' He accused her of not doing her job, leading to a seven-minute argument during which Henderson became visibly upset.
Sandilands has a history of regulatory breaches. In 2009, the show was taken off air after he asked a teenage rape victim about her sexual experiences on a lie detector. Last October, the media watchdog threatened action over 'vulgar, sexually explicit and deeply offensive' content.
Despite controversies, the duo signed a 10-year, $200 million contract with ARN in 2021, one of the largest in Australian commercial radio history. Their partnership began in 1999 and achieved top ratings in Sydney, peaking at 797,000 listeners and a 16.3% market share.
