‘I’m Shattered’ — Kyle Sandilands’ Furious Live On-Air Meltdown At Jackie O Just Changed Everything
Kyle Sandilands revealed on-air today that he woke up this morning, checked news.com.au, and instantly burst into tears.
Kyle Sandilands opened the latest episode of his new show on a sombre note today, confessing he was “shattered” and had been crying this morning after reading that his former radio co-host Jackie “O” Henderson had accused him of causing her post-traumatic stress disorder.
Documents filed with the Federal Court for her case against KIIS FM station owner ARN, released by the court on Tuesday, contain reference to a medical report which claims Henderson suffered PTSD.
In a sworn statement, Henderson says an “unpredictable and erratic” Sandilands would “belittle or humiliate” her when they worked together.
Speaking on-air this morning, Sandilands revealed the first thing he does of a morning is check news.com.au – where he was “shattered” to read an article published on Tuesday night airing his former co-host’s new claims against him.
Sandilands said he checks news.com.au first thing every morning – and what he saw today left him in tears.
“I instantly burst into tears … I fell apart this morning. Crying in the shower like a big sook,” he said.
“It was very upsetting, and honestly it was her truth, but it was so against the reality of what happened,” he said. “It’s soul destroying.”
Henderson said in the court filing that she “felt that the constant attacking of my character and putting me down at work by Mr Sandilands was slowly wearing me down … I felt exhausted and like I wanted to give up.
“I felt like this treatment was happening in subtle ways but regularly. It felt like bullying.”
The pair’s decades-long radio partnership combusted on-air in February this year, when Sandilands took his co-host to task for her newfound interest in astrology and her habit of bringing it up during their show.
The on-air intervention was not received well, with the pair taken off the air and eventually, the dissolution of their show and 27-year working relationship.
Sandilands blasted the new claims made by Jackie O in court as “fake” and said that he would “never get over” what he saw as her betrayal.
“It has rattled my trust in humans for the rest of my life,” he said.
Happier times: Newsreader Brooklyn Ross with Kyle and Jackie O.
Newsreader Brooklyn Ross, who worked for Kyle and Jackie O for more than a decade before taking a role on Sandilands’ new show, has remained friends with Jackie O. He appeared to choose his words carefully as he tried to offer some perspective on her motives.
“I think she just always felt that she couldn’t talk to you …” he began, before Sandilands cut him off.
“THAT’S F**KING BULLS**T, THAT’S F**KING BULLS**T,” the host bellowed.
“That’s not what she felt. That’s what she told you.”
Sandilands said that the collapse of his partnership with Jackie O had a profound effect on him: “I’ll never trust another human as long as I live,” he declared.
That was too much for Ross, who broke down in tears as colleagues comforted him.
Ross burst into tears during this morning’s episode.
He’s remained friends with Jackie, and insists she doesn’t hate Kyle “that much.”
“It’s terrible you two are in this position against each other. She doesn’t hate you that bad, Kyle,” he said.
Jackie O had been reduced to tears during the public dressing down from her co-host back in February.
ARN served Sandilands a notice that his behaviour constituted “serious misconduct”, while Henderson notified the company she could no longer work with him.
After ARN terminated Sandilands’ contract, he sued for breach of contract and received a $12m settlement before launching his own daily subscriber-only show.
After ARN terminated Henderson’s contract, she is now suing for alleged breach of workplace rights, seeking “at least $82.25m”.
This affidavit forms part of Henderson’s case, which is ongoing.