Kyle Sandilands has been left feeling “blindsided” and “betrayed” in the wake of his on-air tiff with Jackie O Henderson.
After bumping heads in an explosive broadcast on February 20, Henderson quit the show on Tuesday claiming she “cannot continue to work with” her longtime co-host, while Sandilands’ behaviour has been deemed “an act of serious misconduct” by Australian Radio Network (ARN).
Sandilands has since been suspended and given fourteen days to remedy the breach, while KIIS FM’s The Kyle and Jackie O Show has been taken off-air.
Now, an insider in Sandilands’ camp has revealed that while he is keeping positive following the bust-up, he feels massively “betrayed” by Henderson, news.com.au reports.
The close source also claims the 54-year-old wasn’t directly informed by Henderson, 51, that she was leaving, and was told just hours before ARN released a statement about her walkout.
The publication adds that the pair exchanged text messages in the wake of the on-air spat, where Henderson expressed her hurt over his behaviour.
News.com.au reports that Sandilands sent Henderson a message apologising for the heated episode, adding that he “loved” and “cared” for her.
However, the insider alleges that Henderson wasn’t going to let this one slide, telling the shock jock that he had “crossed a line” with his “wrong and low” on-air commentary.
Henderson also informed her longtime radio partner that she was taking a break from the show and wanted to tell him directly, not through management.
In the week that Henderson was off the airwaves, Sandilands is said to have thought that she would return to the show. The announcement of her departure came as a shock to him, news.com.au reports.
Last month, Henderson broke down in tears on-air after being lambasted over her alleged “fixation” with astrology, which Sandilands claimed was affecting her work.
“It’s affecting other things, like your fixation on this has made you almost unworkable. You’re off with the fairies with this s***. It’s mental,” he raged.
Sandilands went on to allege that “everyone else in the building” had complained to him about her behaviour, including management.
“I would never say things like that about you,” Henderson hit back as she broke down in tears.
“It’s a total attack, it really is … to say, ‘You don’t know what the F is going on, you’re not doing your job’, that’s an attack and I wouldn’t do that.”