Kyle Sandilands walked off the air mid-show today after KIIS dumped a live segment discussing a high-profile court case. The rare full broadcast interruption prompted an on-air outburst from Sandilands.
Broadcasting from home, Sandilands expressed frustration that television and newspapers could report details of the case, while radio was subject to tighter scrutiny under contempt of court rules.
“Radio laws should be overhauled,” Sandilands said, before the feed was cut.
The prerecorded dump message played during the interruption: “This means someone has said something inappropriate and is currently getting in trouble. The broadcast will return in seconds.”
Upon returning, Sandilands confronted the show’s censor, questioning why the segment was pulled despite what he claimed was legal vetting. The censor clarified that show director Bruno Bouchet had ordered the dump. Sandilands responded by announcing he was leaving.
“You know what? I’m going home.” said Sandilands, before realising that he was already at home.
“I’m not interested in being puppetered by losers,” he said. “Until this show runs the way I intend it to be run, I will not be back on the air at all, in any way, shape or form.”
Mediaweek understands that ARN’s legal department regularly circulates internal directives instructing on-air staff and producers not to reference specifics of ongoing cases, particularly when contempt of court risks are heightened. Such directives can be followed by instructions to execute a full dump if breached, a rare measure on the Kyle & Jackie O Show, which usually relies on live censorship tools.
Wednesday’s incident comes as the program is already under heightened scrutiny due to separate contempt of court proceedings relating to earlier remarks about another case involving mushroom cook Erin Patterson.
In a heated exchange, Sandilands said he would rather face jail than be told what to do. The segment ended with him saying he would be off the air until at least Monday: “Enjoy the rest of the week, guys. Arrivederci from me.”
An edited version of the segment can be heard here:
ARN’s response
A spokesperson from ARN had the following comment:
“Kyle is a passionate broadcaster with a strong belief in the freedom of opinion and speech. This is one of the reasons his content is so compelling and why millions of people connect with his show every day. In this case, the processes we have in place to comply with broadcast regulations were actioned, which was a frustration for him. We hope he’ll be back on air tomorrow.”