A controversial Australian radio host was sacked and his long-running breakfast programme cancelled after he was accused of misconduct following a breakdown in relations with his co-host and employer.
Kyle Sandilands’ The Kyle and Jackie O Show was cancelled with immediate effect, the Australian Radio Network (ARN) confirmed on Wednesday. It had “issued a notice of termination of contract” to Sandilands and his company, Quasar Media, over what it described as “serious misconduct”.
“As a result, The Kyle and Jackie O Show will no longer be presented.”
The decision follows a breakdown in relations between Sandilands and his co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson, triggered by an argument during a broadcast last month. According to an ARN statement, Henderson said she “cannot continue to work with Mr Kyle Sandilands” and would not present the radio show any more.
Sandilands accused Henderson on air of being “off with the fairies” and said that her interest in horoscopes and astrology made her “almost unworkable”, stated a report in Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
The argument took place while the duo were discussing Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest, and Henderson said she wanted to look up the former royal’s horoscope.
The Kyle and Jackie O Show, which first aired in 2004 and dominated breakfast radio ratings in Sydney for years, had also been expanded into other markets including Melbourne, where it was syndicated across the KIIS network.
ARN said Sandilands had been given 14 days to “remedy this breach” or “cease to present” before the formal termination. During that period, he was taken off air while the station assessed the situation.
The deadline for him to respond ended at midnight on Tuesday.
Sandilands has rejected the termination and said the network would have to “pay the legal consequences”.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, he said: “I don’t accept it. My lawyers told them last week this would be invalid. And guess what? It is”.
He described the incident as a routine on-air disagreement, adding: “Jackie and I had a blue on air. That’s it. The kind of thing we’ve done a hundred times in 25 years.”
According to News.com.au, Sandilands texted Henderson to apologise, and wrote that he was “sorry for anything I said that didn’t go down well”, and still “loved” and “cared” for her.
A source told the outlet that Henderson responded saying Sandilands had “crossed a line” and would be taking time away from the show.
Sandilands further accused ARN of escalating the dispute unnecessarily, saying the network had “decided to try and burn the place down”.
Sandilands said he had apologised to Henderson for what he said on-air and has accused the ARN of not running a “genuine process” when they suspended him.
“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.”
“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!’”
Sandilands accused the company of deliberately sabotaging negotiations.
“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,” he said. “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.”
Despite the controversy, the show remained a major commercial asset for ARN, and Sandilands argued that his performance and audience reach did not justify termination.
“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.”
“I’m not done. Not by a long way,” he said.
Henderson has denied quitting the radio show, saying the news came as a “shock to me, as it has to everyone else”.
“Over the past few days, there has been a lot of speculation and misinformation about my departure on the show. I want to make one important point very clear: I did not quit or resign,” she said in a statement on 6 March, after Sandilands was suspended.
“At this stage, I am unable to say anything further, as I am addressing this through the appropriate legal avenues.”
This is an abrupt end to a 27-year partnership between Sandilands and Henderson on Australian commercial radio, during which they became one of the medium’s most recognisable and commercially successful duos.
At its peak, The Kyle and Jackie O Show dominated Sydney’s FM breakfast ratings, before slipping to second place by the end of 2025.
ARN had bet heavily on the duo’s continued appeal, signing Sandilands and Henderson to a A$200m (£106.45m) contract that was expected to keep them on air until at least 2034. However, their popularity did not translate to Melbourne, where their market share dropped to 5 per cent.
Sandilands has expressed his willingness to return, telling the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that he still wants to do the show and “listeners want me back on there doing the show”.
“At the end of the day I've got a contract with ARN, I expect for them to honour that, and I do have some options if they don't.”
The show has long been associated with controversy, with Sandilands in particular drawing repeated criticism over on-air remarks. In 2009, he faced backlash after a segment in which a 14-year-old girl admitted to being been raped, and Sandilands responded asking if it was the “only sexual experience” she had had. In 2011, he came under fire after calling journalist Alison Stephenson a “fat slag” and threatening to “hunt her down” on air.
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