Jackie ‘O’ Henderson has broken her silence — and she wants to set the record straight.
The radio star has firmly denied quitting The Kyle & Jackie O Show, saying the news left her completely blindsided.
“Over the past few days, there has been a lot of speculation and misinformation about my departure on the show,” she said in a statement on Friday.
“I want to make one important point very clear: I did not quit or resign.”
The 51-year-old described herself as “deeply saddened” by the events of the past weeks and the “possibility of the show ending”, adding: “This has come as a shock to me, as it has to everyone else.”
She also pushed back on reports surrounding her exit, saying the “current media narrative does not reflect what actually occurred, and it has been truly heartbreaking to see how this has unfolded”.
“At this stage, I am unable to say anything further, as I am addressing this through the appropriate legal avenues,” she added.
The moment that set everything in motion came during the February 20 broadcast, when Kyle Sandilands, 54, turned on his co-host in front of their audience of hundreds of thousands, accusing her of being distracted, unfocused, and “off with the fairies” due to her interest in astrology and star charts.
“I totally am offended by you saying something like that,” Jackie replied, her voice taut.
“I would never say things like that about you. It’s a total attack, it really is… to say, ‘you don’t know what the F is going on, you’re not doing your job’ — that’s an attack, and I wouldn’t do that.”
“I come in here, and I do my job, and I do it well,” she continued. Kyle’s response was blunt: “I wouldn’t say that lately, no.”
Within minutes, Jackie had left the studio. Kyle continued the show alongside the team’s newsreader, apparently unaware — or unbothered — by the magnitude of what had just happened.
Jackie O has not returned to the show since.
The stakes couldn’t be higher for both Kyle and Jackie — the pair each signed a record $100 million contract in 2023, locking them into a decade of breakfast shows together.
Exactly what happens next remains to be seen. However, things don’t look good for Kyle. With ARN — the network that owns KIIS — making a decisive statement on March 3.
In a formal statement, the network confirmed that Jackie had resigned, and strikingly, took direct aim at Kyle.
“ARN has also provided written notice to Mr Kyle Sandilands and Quasar Media Services Pty Ltd stating that it considers that Mr Sandilands’ behaviour during the show on 20 February 2026 is an act of serious misconduct which is in breach of ARN’s services agreement,” the statement read.
ARN also confirmed it had offered Jackie “the possibility of an alternative show on the ARN Network” — suggesting the broadcaster is keen to retain her despite the fallout.
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