Kyle Sandilands breaks his silence after Jackie O steps away from radio job at KIIS FM
Jackie ‘O’ Henderson will not return to her KIIS FM breakfast show this week following a heated on-air spat with Kyle Sandilands, that started with a chat about former prince Andrew’s astrology chart.
Kyle Sandilands has addressed the absence of his co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson from the KIIS FM breakfast show this week, following a fiery on-air argument on Friday.
Sandilands told listeners on Tuesday that he had “just heard” Henderson would be taking the week off.
During the show, producers played an old clip of a funny exchange between the pair, while newsreader Brooklyn Ross admitted he “missed her.”
Sign up to The Nightly's newsletters.
Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.
By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“She’ll be gone for the week, I’m told,” Sandilands said. “That’s what I heard yesterday.”
“Looking forward to her returning,” Sandilands added.
On Monday, he revealed Henderson was stepping away to “gather her thoughts” after the tense episode.
The dispute began when Henderson read through Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s astrology chart in response to news of his arrest.
Sandilands initially criticised her “fixation” on astrology before the conversation turned personal.
“I don’t mean to be rude, as I said fascinating, but I don’t think it should be at the detriment of everything else on the show,” Sandilands said.
“It’s affecting other things. Your fixation on this has made you almost unworkable.”
Henderson defended herself, calling the comments “unfair,” while Sandilands continued, accusing her of being “off with the fairies” and saying her focus on astrology was affecting other segments of the show.
As the exchange intensified, Henderson became emotional.
“I would never say things like that about you,” she said.
“You make out like you’re perfect but there are so many things that you don’t do, and I would never bring them up, and I would never say what people say.”
Kyle replied bluntly: “it’s not an attack, it’s an actual fact, babe, I’m sorry.”
Jackie maintained she was fulfilling her role, saying, “I come in here and I do my job and I do it well,” but Kyle disagreed.
“I wouldn’t say that lately, no,” he said.
The tense exchange concluded with Jackie suggesting Kyle could host the show with someone else if he was unhappy.
“Isn’t that a bit extreme?” Kyle said. “I didn’t say you’re not very good, I said you’re off with the fairies, you are unfocused, you don’t give a s***.”
Despite the heated disagreement, the pair remained on air together for another hour, although the atmosphere was noticeably strained.
Kyle and Jackie O signed a 10-year contract with ARN, the owner of KIIS FM, in late 2023, keeping them on air together until the end of 2034.
