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Kyle Sandilands and Jackie “O” Henderson’s former employer is suing the pair, hard they pay for promoting that KIIS misplaced once they allegedly breached their $200 million, 10-year offers and the radio community terminated their contracts.
In addition to protecting Sandilands and Henderson’s contract claims in opposition to it, courtroom information observed through this masthead display KIIS’ dad or mum, ARN, may be pursuing the broadcasters for the felony prices of mopping up the contractual blow-up and looking to claw again maximum of a $3 million bonus.
The paperwork argue that each Sandilands and Henderson have value KIIS promoting earnings and income through breaching their contracts, which they’d promised to hide of their unique agreements with the corporate.
ARN’s attorneys argue {that a} clause in its products and services settlement with Sandilands’ Quasar Media entitles it to claw again 87.92 in step with cent of a $3 million signing bonus paid to Sandilands’ corporate, totalling $2,637,732.
In ARN’s defence to Sandilands’ declare the corporate improperly tore up his contract, the community cites a string of remarks the broadcaster made on air. In a single, Sandilands branded the person who’s now ARN’s leader government a “p—y” right through a printed ultimate yr, pronouncing he didn’t “give a shit” as a result of he concept the manager would quickly be out of a task. As a substitute, ARN leader government Michael Stephenson sacked Sandilands ultimate month.
The feedback, along Sandilands’ threatening remarks in opposition to participants of the Mad F—ing Witches activist staff, and claims of systemic bullying in opposition to his co-host Jackie “O” Henderson, shape a part of ARN’s defence in opposition to his $85 million contract declare within the Federal Courtroom.
Stephenson, a former 9 gross sales boss, joined ARN in past due 2024 as its leader working officer (COO). By way of June 2025, Sandilands used to be insulting him continue to exist air, consistent with the paperwork.
“As a result of a large number of those p—ies, they display up, they suspect they’re in price,” Sandilands mentioned on June 30. “Oh, I’m the COO. No matter that suggests … No person offers a rat’s ass, canine. And anyway, that bloke will likely be long gone in 8 months’ time anyway. Have you learnt what number of COOs I’ve been thru? Hundreds.”
Sandilands went directly to lambast Stephenson, pronouncing he used to be from the “The C-suites … The [expletive] suite. The place do the entire [expletives] paintings! … That’s why they’re known as the C-suites.”
Stephenson, who changed into leader government in a while after the feedback had been made, had hired plenty of measures to rein in Sandilands, together with including extra censors to this system after ARN used to be rebuked through the trade watchdog.
In March this yr, ARN tore up Henderson’s contract after she allegedly refused to paintings with Sandilands on account of his habits in opposition to her. It then scrapped his contract too, prompting each stars to sue the community one at a time for a minimum of a mixed $160 million.
On Tuesday, ARN filed its defence to the claims, which incorporates a letter Henderson’s attorneys despatched the station within the wake of Sandilands’ on-air tirade in opposition to her on February 20 that broke their partnership. The attorneys mentioned that Sandilands’ “constant and ongoing bullying” of Henderson left her “psychologically sick, defamed and humiliated”. ARN failed in its responsibility of care to offer protection to her, the attorneys alleged, and consequently, she may not paintings with him.
In its defence to Sandilands’ declare that his contract used to be unfairly torn up, the community claims his habits used to be so deficient it needed to disregard him regardless of his competition that he used to be simply taking part in the arguable persona anticipated of him. And ARN alleges that Henderson rebuffed its makes an attempt to research Sandilands, regardless of her bullying court cases, so it will not make use of her on her current contract when she in the long run determined she may not paintings together with her co-host of 25 years.
In consequence, ARN alleges it “has suffered loss or harm within the type of misplaced promoting earnings, or misplaced income” and Henderson is liable. The corporate applies the similar good judgment to Sandilands, including that each presenters are at the hook for “incurred bills, losses, liabilities, damages or prices” stemming from their alleged contractual breaches. The dimensions of the ones losses isn’t specified, however is estimated to be within the tens of millions.
On September 10 ultimate yr, Sandilands is said to have mentioned he had carried the display through himself for greater than a yr in remarks that had been off-air however had been filmed.
“Don’t f—ing hassle coming again till you’ve were given your f—ing shit in combination like a typical individual,” Sandilands allegedly mentioned, regarding Henderson. “I’ve been sporting the entire display for a f—ing yr … I’m simply left right here with a limp dick in my hand.”
After Henderson complained, the paperwork state that ARN’s then-chief content material officer Lauren Joyce wrote to her supervisor, Gemma O’Neill, soliciting for additional main points and declaring “this can be a critical subject, and Jackie’s wellbeing is our precedence”. The following day, O’Neill wrote again pronouncing that the corporate must have already got the entire knowledge it wanted.
Then in December, O’Neill advised the corporate the problem used to be “resolved”. Moreover, the day after the February 20 episode, Henderson thanked Stephenson, ARN’s new leader government, and content material leader Kerri Elstub for “checking in” on her.
Media and leisure attorney Shaun Miller advised this masthead it used to be not likely ARN could be held answerable for no longer investigating a question that, consistent with Henderson’s supervisor, have been resolved.
“The belief you can draw from Gemma pronouncing that it’s resolved is that there’s not anything additional to research,” Miller mentioned.
After the Kyle and Jackie O display breached plenty of trade codes in October ultimate yr, the courtroom paperwork observe ARN directed Sandilands not to speak about a variety of subjects right through the display, together with grievance of ARN executives or body of workers, or any subject that integrated ongoing felony complaints or used to be being regarded as through media regulator ACMA or ARN shareholder Information Corp.
The next month, right through a dialogue on ACMA, and the Mad F—ing Witches activist staff that have been concentrated on advertisers at the Kyle and Jackie O Display, Sandilands mentioned he may “get nasty at the back of the scenes if I’ve to”.
“And I don’t need to. Smartly, I don’t need to be burning properties down and shit like that,” he mentioned. He additionally mentioned the activist staff’s habits must be “unlawful” and he would cope with it together with his attorneys and personal investigators.
Representatives for Sandilands, Henderson and ARN had been contacted for remark.
Each Sandilands and Henderson’s instances will likely be again within the Federal Courtroom on Friday for procedural hearings.
Calum Jaspan is a media author for The Sydney Morning Bring in and The Age, based totally in Melbourne. Succeed in him securely on Sign @calumjaspan.10Attach by way of X or e mail.From our companions