Kyle Sandilands has been dumped from Australian Idol.
His axing follows a radio controversy last week in which a 14 year old girl admitted she had been raped at the age of 12 during a “lie detector” stunt.
TEN issued a statement saying: “We thank Kyle for his contribution to Australian Idol over the last four years but it has become increasingly clear that as Idol has remained a family focused show, even more so this year with the 6.30pm Sunday time slot, his radio persona has taken on a more controversial position over this period which is not in the interest of the show.
“Australian Idol is firmly a family program and the recent controversy surrounding Kyle’s radio program (The Kyle and Jackie O show) has highlighted more than ever the conflicting attitude of the two careers.
Sandilands, who also told Austereo he was unable to continue his radio show at this time, will be seen in the first three audition/Top 100 episodes of Idol, which were filmed a number of weeks ago.
FremantleMedia Australia is supportive of TEN’s decision.
Discussions regarding a replacement judge will continue over the coming weeks with a new judge to join Marcia Hines and Ian “Dicko” Dickson for the live performance shows, which commence on August 24th.
Updated: In response, King Kyle Management issued a brief comment: “I’m disappointed at Channel 10’s decision to remove me from Australian Idol. I have truly loved being a part of the show and wish everyone involved all of the sucess for this coming season.”
Australian Idol returns for its seventh series this Sunday at 6:30pm on TEN.
If Idol is a family show, why was Sandilands on it in the first place?
Good on him. He knew better. Even Media Watch picked a story whereby he failed at doing something. I think it is his time to look at how seriously he wants to be doing his job. Come on Ten thought hard, realized they don’t want stupidity on their network. Seriously Kyle it’s called, Seriously Ten or 2Day FM!
But how do we expect TEN to respond to those not under its domain? I don’t think anyone assumes Sandilands is alone in the incident. He was actually in NZ at the time.
ps. Last week there were also some who suggested this story was not relevant to this site as it was a radio matter. I said at the time such stories absolutely affected Kyle’s TV brand. TEN clearly agreed.
What about the 2Day FM producer of the show, and the girl’s mother in all this. Surely they are equally to blame?
i don’t want to sit here and defend kyle and jackie o but really when it comes down to it producers and executives give the final approval to these things. now i’m not in the meeting but i’m pretty sure they (kyle and jackie o) didn’t contact the guy with the lie detector and force him to hook the girl up (and where is the blame for his part in this?he’s the one who can see the emotional distress on his screen). really the real issue of this situation has to be the rape. was the radio segment in bad taste? yes of course it was, but if the girl hadn’t said she was raped would anyone be talking about this? they do these stunts all the time and the media never jumps on it like this. i think the real focus needs to be on getting this girl help.
when it comes down to it these people do sign up for these things. is it a terrible exploitation of people’s emotions? probably, but the radio station doesn’t go looking for these people they come to them because they feel that they are the only ones who can help. of course this is a grey area but people listen-lots of people listen. as long as they are there and the show is playing by the rules (or at least staying in the grey area) these things will continue to happen.
for 10 to fire him is a big call as he is already part of the show and by the time his stuff has stopped being aired people will have moved on. really all its going to do is bring it up again when he disappears. i just wonder how much it has to do with 10 wanting to have rotating guest judges and this just being the perfect opportunity.
Excellent news!
Seriously well done Ch10 for removing Kyle.
I really think this is the best thing for Idol.
I know it would never happen, but how cool would it be if they could get Chris Isaak to replace Kyle. He was great in his guest spot last year, hilarious as always. Plus he’s an honourary Aussie consideing how much he tours down here.
Oh happy, happy day!!
Still not gonna watch Idol though. Sorry TEN.
Well ten are no dummies, I think where they say controvercial, read sexual. I mean the radio show has sure become raunchy over the years, when he started on tv he was a loud mouth on the radio which is all well an good but that show is now all, who’s got the smalles penis, lets jack off into a cup live on radio, why’s a 16 yo kid a virgin. Um maybe beacuse he’s a bloody kid.
As for that Jackie O, what a sorry excuse for a woman. She’s dispicable, i hear she runs the editorial meetings whereas dumbass just turns up. So that means she knows (and pushes) well in advance all the vile crap they are about to do on radio, acts all innocent and pushed her radio mate front and centre to take all the blame. Damn, that’s cold.
Bring back Mark Holden
For all of you going about a delay, apparently they refuse to use one.
Also this has been a long time coming, Kyle & Jackie O have been getting away with stuff like this for too long.
Those who are wishing for the return of Mark Holden will be disappointed to know that he is studying to become a lawyer, according to last week’s Herald Sun. He can be seen attending several court hearings in Melbourne.
I am watching Idol whether or not Kyle is a judge.
Does Idol even have 3 Judges now with Kyle Gone.. quick someone call up Mark Holden!
Fantastic..
Chaser gone
Kyle gone on Idol
what’s next on the hit list
Kyle gone from radio I hope!
Yes Media Watch was profound stuff tonight…
Media Watch devoted almost the entire episode tonight to Kyle and Jackie, and it was (justifiably) scathing.
If you missed it, be sure to watch the repeat tomorrow night.
I rarely ever weigh into these ‘moral panic’ stories, but i have to agree with the consensus that alarm bells should have rung at the station prior to the segment. It’s not just Kyle who is at fault, but his co-host, the mother, all the producers, etc.
This situation is vastly different to the Chaser incident, as the chaser joke did not humiliate or take advantage of real people, let alone a 14 year old, for ratings. If anyone missed tonight’s Media Watch, i suggest catching up.
Kyle was such a tool on Big Brother last year, I’m surprized that Ten even considered him for this years idol in the first place. I’m definitely not sad that he’ll only be on the first three episodes of Idol this year.
Poor Kyle! Although this could be a great time to reunite the original judges and bring back Mark Holden.
How wrong was i, thought 10 would keep him on.
im glad kyle he is gone yay. obnoxious big mouth he was, opps that sounds a bit tall poppyish
No great loss, he was terrible anyway.
everything has been taken out of context, although im not a huge fan of kyle – i dont think he deserves this. i mean why did they put him as a judge in the first place? because his controversial. Since they fired kyle from australian idol i hope they dont cancel The Kyle And Jackio Show, because that would be unfair to thousands of listeners and especially, Jackie. i mean firing him from idol is fair enough but canceling both of his gig together? thats just harsh
I actually think we can thank MasterChef for this. The powers that be have realised you don’t arrogant cruelty to make a show a success. Make Julie the new judge! – or Holden will do.
@Alvin: If that’s the case, and there was an even longer silence, and yet the only comment kyle could come up with was “and thats your only experience” then it only makes it worse for him. If it was a snap of the moment response, then you can’t blame him for being lost of words, otherwise if he had a few moments to think about what to say, then that makes it more inappropriate.
A very brave decsion on Tens part.Well done.I do not know why someone like KS can be constantly employed by anyone.He is a self absorbed,obnoxious waste of space.His comments on Idol to some of the young women is totally offensive.
What the show needs is another singer,Daryl Braithwaite comes to mind.Someone with a lot of experience,highs and lows,light and shade,eh Marcia?
I will watch the show if the singing is up to par,but please no more Maria Carey wannabes as heard in the promos,pleease?
@Alvin
So you’re saying Sandilands had time to think about his response to the girls rape confession, yet still quizzed her about her sex life. Thats even worse !!
well there goes my reason to watch this new series of Idol. It is so shocking how society and the media immediately jump the gun the first chance they get to attack someone they already dislike. What gets me is why no one is pointing figures at the mother who put her daughter on live radio under a lie detector in the first place!
It would be funny of Jackie O got to replace Karl
Kyle Sandilands off our screens? Looks like Christmas has come early.
It would still be a greater decision to axe the show. It’s so awful.
There is a god, hooray!!
Why I am not much of a Kyle fan, give the guy a break. His talking Barbie Doll was in on this too. Regardless of who fronted or produced this show, The mother let the child be questioned!!!! The Mother already knew about the incident as a 12yr old girl, because the girl said ‘mum you already know about this and its not funny’.
The mother is the one who exploited her child for cash, notoriety , a trip to the gold coast – whatever the prize was. You go on a controvesial radio show, what do you expect? Once again the media is to blame when people are too stupid to keep their children and themselves private. Small minded australia wins again. Ten, you are a joke. Dont think just because you won the golden ticket with Masterchef that you are now Willy Wonka – I wont watch Idol without Kyle. All we are left with is Ian “When I was touring with the Beatles, this song was very popular, and Ringo said to me…” Dickson and Marica “Well done darlin” Hines. Unwatchable.
Most people only listened to the stupid edited version. If you actually listened to the unedited full version, there was a long silence between when the girl admitted she was raped and Kyle asking the question. The edited tv version sounded like that Kyle immediately ask the question after the girl admitted she was raped and people just judged their opinion on that.
Also to those folks at 2UE and other AM station, they probably didn’t even listen to the full audio and their having opinions without listening properly to the audio. You could tell everyone was shocked.
If you listen to the Kyle and Jackie O Show you should know what to expect.
God, TodayTonight are such hypocrites, fix themselves up before they start talking sensationalist crap about other people.
There are way too much sensationalisy stuff on this story. If you actually just write an article without any sensationalising or bias to sell paper, you’ll actually see how far this has gone.
Anyways, I wish the 14 yo girl ‘Rachel’ well and I hope Kyle and Jackie O is on air soon.
I think both him and jackie just walked. Kyle spends more time in the US than in Australia at the moment, he owns clothing stores, wants to open nightclubs and has other ventures (according to him). he is “unable to continue his work” on radio is what he told austero and we were no expecting a comment from TEN until Tuesday. To be honest I dont think he really gives a toss.
Jackie has moved down south of sydney and wants to start a family and they were both going to be doing their show away from each otehr an dteh studio.
this stunt saga is probably just a conveinent way to move on.
I’m with you Harry bring back Mark.H! Touchdown!!!
If not Mark I’d be very happy with Darren Hayes he’s a nice guy ,isn’t rude and is constructive rather then destructive.
How about someone like Iva Davies who has extensive experience and is well respected?
Thank god the fool has been axed from the show,now his biggest loser.Hope he never returns to any tv show in future.
Ten News reported there will be a guest judge each week. I think they already planned to have guest judges, but now these guests will act as Kyle’s replacement for the entire season by the sounds of things.
Although not a kyle fan in anyway, I still wonder if he deserved the firing from Idol for that. I think 2 mistakes he personally made were the comments after the incident. The first one where he asked the girl if it was “the only experience” she’d had. The second one made in the days after, where he not only blamed everyone but himself, but seemed to dismiss rape as an acceptable thing “rape happens in society’. Yes it does, but it shouldn’t and kids of the small of 14 should not be subject to radio stunts that ask them about sex, drugs and alcohol. It’s inappropriate.
Ofcourse I think the mum should take most of the blame, and im sure if she was an idol judge she would have been dumped the day of the incident.
I think the today FM producers should also take quite a bit of the blame for allowing a segment such as that to go ahead. In fact, not only that, but allowing no deal.
At the end of the end of the day though, Kyle is a public figure, his actions were wrong, and he needs to be a bit more careful of what he does if he wants to keep jobs such as his judging aust Idol.
On a personal note, I didn’t think Ten would dump him from aussie idol, but I’m glad that, unlike other networks, they aren’t putting their tv ratings ahead of their moral decisions.
Great news. Obviously Optus, Qantas, Hrold Mitchell, and other advertisers listened and have dropped their advertising from 2DayFM breakfast. The fact remains that Vile had at least 7 seconds in which to dump the offending question, but he chose to not do so.
Looks like we need a new theory……
For every over-reaction, there is a even greater over-reaction.
The Australian media is turning into a world of robots that just follow the leader when it comes to controversy.
If you had a listen to the Kyle and Jackie O Show on Friday, and heard what he had to say in response to the issue, and weighed that against the tabloid response – you would see this is much ado about nothing.
I heard old geezers on 3AW talking about it, I am sure they have never switched over to 101.9, maybe do not even have an FM capable radio at home?
I am not even a fan of either of those two radio hosts, but just because you do not like someone, does not give added licence to punish beyond the point.
This smells a lot like the Sam Newman saga from last year.
Another victim of a slow news week.
Bring Mark Holden back!
While i dont consider myself a kyle fan, i never really had anything too much against him. if you listene to his radio show you know what your in for. the incident was without doubt appalling but should on person take all the blame for this when there is a whole bunch of other people (mother, producers of the show) who are just as much to blame. he is just teh scapegoat. he also gives a lot of his time and money to charity (mcdonalds charity houses) and while he is an ass sometimes i think this is undeserved IMO.
i thought last year the idol panel finally settled down after six years of changes and settling into new formats. should be interesting how they handle the transition from audition shows to live performance shows and who will replace him- i would guess someone like brian mcfadden who seems to be getting a media profile in australia at the moment with football superstar on fox8.
It’s amazing that someone as untalented and generally hared as Kyle has been in the media for so long…. Good riddance!
I’d like Darren Hayes or Tim Campbell to replace Sandilands
I think its all a bit over the top,the segment (while silly) could of been on any number of radio shows and happened to end up on one which is hosted by a man with a lot of disapproval.
If you ask me the media is using this controversy as a way to get at Kyle, at the end of the day its the mothers fault for putting her daughter, who, she knew had been raped but failed to disclose or use common sense and not put her child in a position like that.
If this had happened on a radio show that was not as popular and was not hosted by a celebrity this would not be half as huge as it is, media is just hyping up a story to cause as much damage as they can so they have something to write about.
The people making a big fuss could care less about the girl, her home life, the obviously unsuitable mother and the person who committed the act being free to possibly do it again all they care about is defacing Kyle and making it about him which quite frankly makes me sick.
karma is a wonderful thing, all those offensive, insensitive comments you made have come back to haunt you, I never lowered my self to your level as far as watching or listening to any of your stints but other’s comments was enough, pay back time , grin and bare it like those who were victims of your viper tongue
Brave and right decision by Ten and good for Dicko too – he can revert to his original role on the judging panel which he somewhat lost to Kyle. Am scratching my head at who should replace him – maybe Ten can nab Simon Cowell for a season?!
Finally, a win for people who respect talented, entertaining and interesting individuals. Someone please tell me why it is he was on TV in the first place, I can’t recall why? If Delta replaces him I will just continue not watching, but almost anyone else I’ll consider watching simply because they got rid of him. Thats one viewer gained, I’m sure it won’t equate for all the braindead Sydney viewers who’ll switch over to the talented melting pot that is Dancing with the Stars, but oh well.
And not one person at the station thought to use the 14 second delay button and cut to an advert so none of it went to air (when ever anyone is on the show that Sanderland’s disagrees with he sure cuts to an advert quick).
Take the sex question out of it and regardless this was an exercise in humiliating a 14 year old girl for concert tickets … any question would have been designed to humiliate … from wagging school to white lies to trying smoking to sneaking an alcoholic drink. The Producers of this show should be ashamed, Kyle and Jackie should be ashamed and the Mother most certainly should be ashamed … Cyber Bullying is an issue right now (recent suicides and such) and this is really a form of bullying as well … perhaps look out Alex Perry and Charlotte Dawson.
You reap what you sow and maybe the days of berating people like Kate DeAraugo to “cover up her tuck shop lady arms” in 2005 and all those other bullying humiliating things Sandiland’s has said over time have finally caught up with him (obviously TEN and the producers of Idol do not think he can control what comes out of his mouth).
I’m not a Kyle fan but this isn’t sitting right with me. I really think this is unfair. Please don’t have a go at me for feeling this way. I have expressed in previous posts my sadness for the girl and my horror at her mother’s actions. Also, Jackie O was there too, yet Kyle cops all the vitriol. Again, unfair.
Oh well, he probably deserves it, the show was no better for having him anyway, I just hope they don’t bring back Mark Holden… I just feel sorry for Jackie O for being brought down by this.
I agree 100% with Studly Dudley.
I cannot believe there are that many morons out there who do not realise that you cannot ask a 14 year old about her sex life – especially on air.
As far as I am concerned the only people who want to know about a child’s sex life are paedophiles.
Glad Kyle is gone. Perconally i think this action was over the top and ten should of sacked him when Dicko came back on board since Idol has suffered a ratings dip since he came on board. Either way, glad he’s gone. He was an awful Judge who offers no constructive critisism and just tells the contestants how fat they are and how awful there clothes are. Hopefully they can get a decent replacement. I Liked Darren Hayes last season when he was a guest judge and also offered a mentor type role as well. If they go with him, Delta or Brian McFadden ill be happy. Good by Kyle, you wont be missed.
Enter Mark Holden – Stage left.
This is a win against child exploitation
Pleased with the decision, have not warmed to Kyle at all over the years – even prior to Celeb Big Brother all those years ago. It’s a shame that it is the result of stuffup on the radio (where blame could come from all angles), when network executives should have known he wasn’t a decent media personality.
Thankfully being in Melbourne, i havn’t been exposed to Kyle & Jackie O on radio for many years. Removing Kyle from Australian Idol duties will improve the show substantially. Pity this didn’t occur earlier, i’d go with an all new panel.
couldn’t happen to a nicer person! Congratulations Channel Ten!
Hmm, at first I was all for his axing, but the more I think about it, the more I reckon this was an over-the-top decision… most of the blame for the radio “scandal” lies with the girl’s mother, not Sandilands. I won’t exactly miss him, but the show may lose a little of it’s ‘fun’ now that he’s gone. Dicko will probably be happy though, considering he wanted both Kyle and Marcia dumped…. I’d rather see Marcia be kicked out instead, truth be told!
how sad is idol i hope there ratings suk
As much as I despise Kyle, this move seems a little extreme.
Sounds more like a gimmick, and an attempt to revitalise an ailing tv show.
Hooray! He was always the least interesting and articulate judge. A total loser in fact…
he should never have been a judge in the first place. what has he done significantly in the music industry to get the job as a judge. nothing. the show went from a pretty good show to really terrible when he became a judge
Ten has really come full circle in twelve months – at first they were happy with Kyle and his rudeness on Idol and BB – but with the success of “feel good”/family programming with Masterchef – Kyle no longer fits in their (new) philosophy.
I never thought that Ten would move closer to family programming and Nine away from it (with Ladette to Lady, amongst others).
I sure Kyle always knew that those who live by the sword, also die by it too.
Get Delta on and I will watch it every week, just for her.
Wow, I wasn’t really expecting this to happen, but I am thrilled that it has. Kyle didn’t really provide anything of value anyway. All he ever did was comment on what the contestants were wearing anyway.
Yet with all those issues in the world you manage to find the time to comment on a TV blog “TT” ….
Very interesting. David I’m sure you’ll keep us up to date with any goss as to who the replacement job will be. I noted Delta was a ‘guest’ judge – I wonder what the odds are of her signing on full-time? Although she is pretty young, she has more musical talent in her left earlobe than Sandilands had.
This is so stupid. The mother of that child should be jailed for failing to protect her child. How Australian public think it’s OK to kill career of people who happen to be in the incident is beyond me.
Fantastic. I don’t necessarily think he should have been dumped due to the “lie detector incident” but I’m still happy nonetheless.
Good Work Channel 10..i enjoyoed the first two series of Idol but dropped out when Kyle came on borad but might check it out this year again…excellent decsion indeed…someone needed to send this moron a message!
Excellent news. Kyle has the most atrocious taste in music and I’m sick of him bagging anything that’s not from this decade.
As far as Kyle is concerned it’s latest talentless diva > Beatles/Stones etc.
Good riddance.
wow talk about last minute. i genuinely wasn’t expecting this.
so now the question is who could the replacement be? could they do the daring and bring mark holden back?
Wow, this could be his entire career coming to a screeching halt.
This is so stupid! There are real issues in this world and yet the Australia media only seem to take focus on trivial things! Move on!
Wow! They actually followed through with it – and here we all thought this was just another “review of his position.”
Smart view in terms of the “family show,” but not sure whether it will help the show or not. I mean, as much as we hated Kyle, he did bring an edge to the show, and his comments were rude, but he did say what everyone thought, and his controversy was always a good part of the judges.
They better replace him with someone critical, and not just someone who says that everyone’s good and that they should be happy that they gave it a go. However, I do not know of anyone who would be good – perhaps Guy Sebastian (btw, his new song ‘Like It Like That’ is really good)?
Interesting. I admit I’ve made similar stuff ups in the past that I know should not have come out of my mouth despite what the person was saying. I don’t like Kyle, and I don’t hate him but he tells it like it is which is so rare now because you don’t want to step on someones shoes.
Amazing most people are against him and little is giving towards the girls mother. She knew about the rape, she knew their was a lie detector and could have said no. She also failed to inform the station or hosts, it’s really her fault it’s come to this.
The only person here to feel sorry for is the child, she was exploited by her mother.
Smart move by Ten.
Kudos to them for having the guts to do this.
Kyle might appeal to some but not to me and I doubt many families would endorse his views.
Good!!! I hope he loses all of his jobs!!!
thank god that bozo has gone… but i still wont watch