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Updated ,first published
Kyle Sandilands’ employer terminated his contract at the stroke of midnight on Tuesday, axing the $100 million deal the instant a two-week deadline it had set for the controversial broadcaster to fix his “serious misconduct” against co-host Jackie “O” Henderson expired.
Sandilands claimed on Wednesday that his criticism of Henderson on February 20, which reduced her to tears, was no different to many other arguments the pair have had over 27 years working together and was used as a pretext by radio network ARN to tear up their contracts.
Sandilands said he had done everything the company asked during the 14 days he was suspended from broadcasting after berating Henderson, including telling the KIIS FM owner he was willing to work with someone else, and would fight its decision to oust him.
One source familiar with the dispute, who asked not to be named due to the sensitive nature of the matter, said Sandilands was informed of his termination via email “at the stroke of midnight”.
“That 14-day deadline just felt so arbitrary,” the source said. “It seemed like [ARN] had already made up their minds and were going through the motions of allowing Kyle to remedy the breach, without actually wanting the situation to be remedied at all.”
ARN and Sandilands both separately announced the termination on Wednesday morning, putting an end to the broadcaster’s record-breaking contract to present the Kyle & Jackie O Show until 2034, which is now all but certain to be challenged in court.
“ARN has just announced that they have terminated my contract,” Sandilands said in a statement on Wednesday morning. “I don’t accept it.”
“My lawyers told them last week this would be invalid. And guess what? It is.”
Sandilands said he has done everything asked over the past few weeks, but accused ARN of not wanting to “fix” the matter and using it as a chance to get out of the remainder of the $200 million contract he and Henderson signed in 2023. “So, it’s over to my lawyers.”
Representatives for Sandilands distributed the statement early on Wednesday morning in advance of a brief announcement from ARN, which confirmed “The Kyle and Jackie O Show will no longer be presented”.
Henderson has not responded to requests for comment and ARN declined to add to its statement.
In his statement, Sandilands indicated that he was willing to work with “someone else” in the absence of Henderson, who he has worked with for more than 25 years.
The decision comes two weeks after Henderson’s contract was terminated by ARN after the company said her representatives had told management she could not continue working with Sandilands.
Sandilands said in his statement that he had apologised to Henderson and meant it. Henderson has previously said she did not quit ARN and was addressing the issue through legal channels.
The pair’s contracts, which stood to run until the end of 2034, had become onerous for ARN just one year in, after the show’s expansion to Melbourne bombed and advertiser sentiment turned against the sexualised content featured on the show.
In response, Sandilands said the company knew “exactly what they were getting into”, having worked with him for a decade.
On Tuesday, one radio executive – who spoke on condition of anonymity due to commercial sensitivities – said Sandilands was in a “strong position” legally because his tirade against Henderson last month wasn’t close to his worst on-air behaviour.
Another executive said it was likely both Sandilands and Henderson would challenge the terminations, but that ARN had no option but to act because of their show’s poor performance.
Sources at ARN – who spoke anonymously because they have been instructed not to communicate with journalists – confirmed that two emails were sent to staff after Sandilands released his bombshell statement.
One instructed them not to speak to the media. The other, sent by ARN chief executive Michael Stephenson shortly after 8am, confirmed the network had cut the Kyle & Jackie O Show.
One junior producer at ARN, who did not work on Kyle & Jackie O, said staff were angry that Sandilands and Henderson were arguing over millions when “the rest of us are getting made redundant, or trying to pay the rent on salaries that barely cover our [daily living expenses].”
Another ARN insider claimed: “What’s going on is so blatantly obvious that it’s almost laughable: ARN were desperate to get out of this contract, so they seized this opportunity the second it presented itself. Whether [management] succeeds is another question altogether.”
Media and entertainment law expert Shaun Miller, principal of Shaun Miller Lawyers, said Sandilands was on solid legal footing.
“I wouldn’t want to stand between Kyle Sandilands and $88 million – it will be road kill,” Miller said. “[He] has the strong legal argument that he was engaged by ARN to be controversial, provocative and a maverick. So for ARN to terminate Kyle’s contract for reasons that ARN actually engaged Kyle to do – that makes no sense at all.”
Miller said that ARN’s position may be based on the fact the company hired Sandilands specifically to work on the Kyle & Jackie O show – and when Henderson left the show, the program ceased to exist.
The show was launched into Melbourne two years ago, but in that time KIIS lost more than 220,000 listeners under Sandilands and Henderson, or 36 per cent of its breakfast audience. The first ratings results of 2026 are due to be published on Thursday.
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Michael Lallo is a senior culture writer at The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.
Calum Jaspan is a media writer for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based in Melbourne. Reach him securely on Signal @calumjaspan.10Connect via X or email.From our partners
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