Jackie Henderson, known as Jackie O, has admitted in her new memoir The Whole Truth that she is 'still ashamed' of segments from the Kyle & Jackie O Show that prioritised shock value over decency. The radio host, who has co-hosted the programme with Kyle Sandilands for over 20 years, said they 'wanted to create a rollercoaster ride' in the early years, often at the expense of her own morals.
Henderson addressed the show's most infamous moment in 2009, when a 14-year-old girl was connected to a lie detector live on air. The girl revealed she had been raped two years earlier, and Sandilands asked: 'Is that the only experience you’ve had?' Henderson described it as 'the biggest wake-up call' and a moment when 'our hubris caught up with us', though she also blamed the girl's mother for 'going rogue'.
She also regretted a segment in which a caller confronted a colleague live on-air about her alcoholism. Henderson wrote that she brought up the episode in rehab, saying: 'I’m still deeply ashamed of it. Half of your brain is thinking like a normal human being – This is fucked up – but the other half is in entertainment mode.'
The Kyle & Jackie O Show, which moved to KIIS FM in 2014, remains Sydney's top-rated breakfast programme. However, it has faced an advertiser boycott after a campaign claimed its content normalises 'violent misogyny', with companies including AMP and Bendigo Bank pulling ads.
