Kyle Sandilands brushes off ‘bulls**t’ watchdog ruling over remarks about Paralympians

Radio presenter Kyle Sandilands has shrugged at a statement from the media watchdog about “insensitive and hurtful” remarks he made on air about disabled athletes.

The KIIS 106.5 host was told to undergo sensitivity training after comparing the Paralympic Games to the ‘Special Olympics’ and saying that ‘some of the things athletes do are terrible’.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) released a report on Tuesday finding that the radio station had breached the code’s “decency provision” on two occasions.

Sandilands said on Wednesday that he was unaware of the code breach until he read about it in the newspaper that morning.

While perusing the headlines, newscaster Brooklyn Ross told Sandilands, “You’re in there,” and the shock jock dismissed the story as “bulls**t.”

‘Yes, I’m in. Some kind of bulls**t in there about something I didn’t even know about. Still don’t know about it. One day I will find out,” he said.

His comments suggest that he has not begun the sensitivity training ordered by ACMA.

Later on the air, Sandilands joked that his staff needed sensitivity training after a blowout between executive producer Pedro Cuccovillo and guest booker Jaimee “Mayo” Blazquez.

He also made several jokes about his new “sensitive era” following the ACMA report, admitting at one point, “I can’t keep a straight face.”

ACMA released a report Tuesday finding that KIIS 106.5 had twice violated the code’s “decency provision.” Sandilands said on Wednesday that he was unaware of the code breach until he read about it in the newspaper that morning and called the story “bulls**t.”

The first intrusion came when Sandilands and his co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson (pictured) talked about Paralympians on September 1, 2021. Sandilands compared the Paralympic Games to the Special Olympics and said ‘some things athletes do are terrible’

The first breakthrough came when Sandilands and his co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson talked about Paralympians on September 1, 2021.

“Did you watch the Special Olympics? Some things are terrible,’ Sandilands said.

“A poor fellow ran for the high jump and then swerved to the right because he was blind and landed on his ass on the floor.

“When they were playing football, the blind people, I thought, ‘Are you kidding me?’ They throw themselves on the ground like sausages to block the ball.

“And I think good for you, I like the spirit of the game…but I feel…Jesus Christ…that’s a big effort.”

The ACMA report found that ‘the Paralympians in question were mocked by Mr. Sandilands, and they were mocked for the techniques used to participate in and compete in their particular sport.

The ACMA believes that a regular listener of the program, while tolerant of irreverent presentation styles, would still be able to identify what was generally “acceptable” content, and who was likely to be considered a “fair target’ for humor or ridicule in contemporary Australia. ‘

Sandilands was also called out for comments he made about a journalist two days later, on September 3.

The journalist had covered the radio host’s comments about the Paralympians.

The ACMA report found that ‘the Paralympians in question were mocked by Mr. Sandilands, and they were mocked for the techniques used to participate in and compete in their particular sport. (Pictured: Jackie ‘O’ Henderson)

“If you don’t have any news, write about someone else who isn’t going to follow up and look it up and find out what really happened because I have a lot of time and a lot of money to make things happen,” he said.

“Wake up, go away, pick someone who isn’t capable of ruining your whole life. No, that’s not a threat, that’s a guarantee.’

ACMA rejected a complaint that Sandilands had “incited serious contempt and ridicule” in his comments about the Paralympians.

“The ACMA believes that the public would likely have viewed Mr. Sandilands’ remarks, while highly offensive, as a reflection of his own sharp presentation style, rather than as an encouragement for others to adopt his views,” it said. the report.

In light of these matters, while the ACMA believes that the licensee transmitted material that was offensive and ridiculed people for their disability, the ACMA does not believe that the high threshold test of likely inciting “serious ridicule” in “a reasonable listener” “has complied, as required for a breach of this provision.”

HT&E, owner of KIISFM, argued in its argument that Sandilands was simply expressing “genuine surprise.”

“Mr. Sandilands uses empathetic language such as ‘poor fellow’ and ‘Jesus Christ, that’s a lot of effort’, which demonstrate a compassionate response to what he saw, as opposed to belligerent or aggressive sentiment,” it said.

‘She [Sandilands’ comments] were not made in an aggressive manner and would not provoke others to share in derogatory attitudes towards disabled people as a group.’

It is not the first time Sandilands has faced trouble over his comments after suggesting that robbers in Rio during the 2016 Paralympic Games should target Paralympians rather than able-bodied athletes.

He said disabled athletes competing in the Rio Paralympics were easier targets for theft.

“If I were a robber in Rio, I would wait for the Paralympics to start,” he said.

The shock jock added, “They’re a much easier target than the able-bodied.”