Notorious shock jock Kyle Sandilands has been found to have breached decency standards after he made a comment about gay men and Monkeypox during the Kyle and Jackie O show.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) released a media statement on Thursday where it announced it found Sandilands to have breached decency rules under the Commerical Radio Code of Practice during an episode of KIIS FM’s Kyle and Jackie O show.
Sandilands reportedly made a comment “that stereotyped gay men and assigned blame to them for spreading” Monkeypox. The comments were made on August 23, 2022 — a couple of months after Monkeypox was declared a global emergency.
The media statement reads:
“The ACMA found that the overall sentiment of the segment stereotyped gay men as irresponsible in regard to their sexual health, this made them the prime carriers of a virus that presented a danger to the community and, as a result, they were not deserving of sympathy or compassion.”
AMCA Chairperson Nerida O’Loughlin described Sandilands comments as “derisive” and “insulting”.
“We acknowledge that the program’s audience does not expect the presentation style of either the program or the presenter to always be formal and nuanced,” O’Loughlin said.
“Although there was a basis at the time for a public discussion about [Monkeypox] that involved reference to gay sexuality, the segment went beyond any acceptable standards by conveying that gay men were irresponsible, were a risk to the community and did not deserve any sympathy even when presenting for medical assistance.”
“Broadcasters have a responsibility to maintain appropriate levels of decency, and in this case, the comments by Mr Sandilands were overly disparaging and insulting.”
Alongside the Monkeypox comments, the ACMA found the controversial pair to have breached the Commercial Radio Code of Practice decency provisions in a separate investigation.
According to their findings, it was in relation to comments that were made during an on-air discussion about the Tokyo Paralympics.
ACMA said following their previous investigation, the broadcaster agreed for hosts, producers, censors and relevant staff to partake in sensitivity training.
The licensee must also report back to the ACMA in regard to its progress, with the next report due on September 17 of this year.
The ACMA’s findings have yet to be publicly addressed by Sandilands or KIIS FM.
Image Source: Getty Images / Faith Moran
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