Jessica Mauboy reflects on Kyle Sandilands’ hurtful four-word comment two decades after Australian Idol

Jessica Mauboy says she still remembers the moment Kyle Sandilands told her to “lose the jelly belly” during her season of Australian Idol in 2006.

The singer, then 16, who finished runner-up on the talent show, said the remark did not fully register until she saw the public reaction.

“Even at that age, when I think back to that moment and hearing him say that, I don’t think it fully hit me,” she told 9news.com.au, reflecting on the on-stage exchange 20 years on. 

“I immediately thought of my sisters and my family and thought, ‘What is he saying? What is he talking about? I have no idea what he’s saying?’

“I think when we got the audience, and the world’s reaction, that’s when it really sunk in.”

Then-judge Sandilands made the infamous four-word comment during the second elimination round of Mauboy’s season of the show in September 2006. 

Looking back, Mauboy said the experience reshaped the way she supports young artists, with kindness and encouragement now central to her role as a guest judge and mentor on this year’s Australian Idol.

She said comments like those can be deeply damaging, particularly for people who have not had positive encouragement or support.

Mauboy credited her close-knit family with helping her withstand the scrutiny she faced as a teenager.

“So, I was prepared in that sense of not really absorbing what he was saying,” she said. 

She said the experience also made her more empathetic towards others.

“But I think the after-effect of feeling how hurt other people were, hurt me because I could understand that that had happened to them,” she said.

By the Australian Idol grand final, where Mauboy faced eventual winner Damien Leith, Sandilands had changed his tune.

“I’ve loved Jessica since the moment I saw her in the desert and look at her shine. You should be extremely proud of yourself,” he said.

Mauboy’s new live production, The Story Of Me, sees the singer reflect on her life and career, from her childhood in Darwin to her rise in the music industry, after launching with a sold-out Sydney show in May.