KIIS FM: Kyle Sandilands slams newspaper for urging advertiser boycott

Kyle Sandilands has criticized a Sydney newspaper for ‘manufacturing’ a story about advertisers threatening to leave his radio show.

The Daily Telegraph has been promoting an anti-Kyle agenda in recent days, claiming there was widespread outrage last week over his use of the word ‘spaz’.

In reality, most listeners of The Kyle and Jackie O Show weren’t offended by the term — which the publication called a “skilled” slur — and only a handful of disability activists on Twitter have complained about it.

After the newspaper stepped up its attack on Friday with… to tell a story about brands ‘reviewing their contracts’ with KIIS FM, broadcast live on Sandilands.

He said he was sincerely sorry if regular listeners were offended by his words, but made it clear that the story was a beat-up story to “ruin” him, adding that the station’s advertisers spoke out only under pressure from The Daily Telegraph.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. I like to make people feel nice, relaxed, happy and safe,” he said, before firmly adding: “I’m never going to change.

‘I still don’t change’ [for] the waking world.’

The Daily Telegraph has been promoting an anti-Kyle agenda in recent days, claiming there was widespread outrage last week over his use of the word ‘spaz’. In reality, most listeners of The Kyle and Jackie O Show weren’t offended by the term. (Sandilands can be seen in April 2018)

The Daily Telegraph had asked for comment from blue-chip advertisers Bunnings and Vodafone who distanced themselves from Sandilands’ comments made last Thursday during an on-air rant about KIIS FM’s publicity team.

The majority of Kyle and Jackie O’s major advertisers, including McDonald’s, Coles, Telstra, Uber, Jetstar and Chemist Warehouse, have ignored the story.

Sandilands said the journalist who wrote the article had contacted “all customers and… [told] them: “You have to leave because Kyle is a terrible person”, and she made this all up. And they do that at the newspaper.’

‘That’s fine. The things I have about some journalists will be amazing,” he added, before the studio censorship blew out a few seconds of the live broadcast.

The radio host later joked that he welcomes the day he is finally canceled so he can just “stay home counting money.”

After the publication ramped up the attack on Friday by telling a story about brands revising their contracts with KIIS FM, Sandilands said he was sincerely sorry if regular listeners were offended by his words, but made it clear that the story had been beat up. meant to ‘ruin’ him

The Daily Telegraph had asked for comment from blue-chip advertisers Bunnings and Vodafone who distanced themselves from Sandilands’ comments made last Thursday during an on-air rant about KIIS FM’s publicity team. (Pictured: KIIS FM co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson)

Sandilands’ rebuttal to The Daily Telegraph came during his “apology day” on Friday, where he also apologized to fellow Australian Idol judge Harry Connick Jr. for misquoting him in the air about gender pronouns.

He had said on Wednesday that Connick Jr. had insisted during the auditions, “Hey, we need to know their pronouns!” when in fact it was a producer who suggested it.

He acknowledged his mistake after the American actor-singer and his manager complained that he was misrepresented as being overly “awake.”

Sandilands’ rebuttal to The Daily Telegraph came during his “apology day” on Friday, where he also apologized to fellow Australian Idol judge Harry Connick Jr. (pictured in October 2019) for misquoting him on the air about gender pronouns