Jackie O Henderson is taking the ARN to court after her $100 million contract was terminated earlier this month.
Jackie, 51, is allegedly claiming at least $82.25 million in compensation and claims that her dismissal was against the Fair Work Act.
The ARN announced her lawsuit via a statement to the ASX on March 31, citing that she made “psychological health and safety and bullying complaints” regarding her co-host Kyle Sandilands’ alleged conduct towards her leading up to and during their on-air bust-up on February 20.
In their statement, the network said it disputes Jackie’s claims and plans to defend its position.
Kyle and Jackie’s contracts were both terminated after their on-air falling out, and Kyle has already launched legal action against ARN, appearing in the Federal Court on March 27.
Why is Kyle Sandilands suing the ARN?
Kyle first filed his legal challenge against the ARN on March 20, claiming his termination was “invalid”.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the initial document said that “the termination was unconscionable under the Australian Consumer Law”.
“The applicants seek an order for specific performance of two contracts, payment of whatever amounts are due and payable under the contracts at the time of judgment, and damages,” it added.
He made his first appearance on March 27, where he said he “just wants to go back to work” after leaving the court.
The shock jock said that he hasn’t been in contact with his co-host and regretted his on-air comments.
“It feels like I didn’t do anything different than I have done for 25 years. Actually, a little bit tamer than most days because I was concerned with how she was feeling,” he claimed.
The court was told that Kyle was seeking immediate reinstatement and was willing to host his show again as early as March 30. Despite this, ARN’s lawyers said the likelihood of Kyle returning to air on KIIS FM was “effectively nil”.
His lawyers will argue that his contract’s termination was “invalid”, claiming he has immunity because the dump button wasn’t used to censor his on-air comments. ARN has disputed his claims and intends to defend its decision in court.
The matter is expected to return to the courtroom on April 24.
What happened between Kyle and Jackie O?
The Kyle & Jackie O Show came crashing down after Kyle accused Jackie of being “off with the fairies” after she wanted to look at Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s astrology chart during a segment.
After sharing her offence with his comment, he said it interfered with her ability to do her job, and claimed that others also expressed their concerns.
Following a prolonged absence, the ARN pulled its show “effective immediately” from the airwaves on March 3.
In his scathing statement to the media, Kyle said he apologised to Jackie, and they have worked through issues in the past.
“Let me tell you what actually happened here. Jackie and I had a blue on air. That’s it. The kind of thing we’ve done a hundred times in 25 years,” he said.
“And ARN took the situation and decided to try and burn the place down. They sacked Jackie. They suspended me. They wouldn’t even let me pick up the phone to call her or anyone else on the show.
“Then — and this is the bit that gets me — once they’d made it impossible for the show to go on, they turn around and say, ‘You didn’t fix it. You’re fired!’”
He also claimed that during his suspension until March 17, he did everything he was told and alleged that the ARN “didn’t want to fix this”.
