Kyle Sandilands has taken a dig at Natalie Barr, after the former newsreader replaced Sam Armytage as new Sunrise co-host, suggesting she didn’t deserve the new gig.
WATCH: Samantha Armytage breaks down as she quits Sunrise
The radio host suggested that Natalie only got the job because she’d been with the breakfast show for so long – just “waiting” around for something like this.
“Natalie’s a great newsreader – not taking anything away from her success – but I think you can’t just hang around,” Kyle said on The Kyle and Jackie O Show.
“It’s like me leaving and Intern Pete [KIIS FM’s producer and occasional on-air personality] being given my job, just because he’s here.”
When KIIS FM newsreader Brooklyn interjected to say that Natalie is “not bad”, Kyle hit back with: “That’s not what you want. You don’t want someone who’s ‘not bad’.”
He then added: “You don’t just get a guernsey because you’re hanging around.”
And the radio shock jock didn’t stop there, adding that he found Natalie to be “a little cold”.
“I find her a little cold, just quietly. I’ve never met her, mind you. Just watched her on TV. And maybe I find her cold because she’s just reading news,” he said.
Natalie later confronted the radio presenter live on the show, insisting he didn’t know her well enough to make such a claim.
“Sorry, Kyle, I actually have not met you in person, but maybe if you met me in person you’d see that I’m not that cold,” she said.
Kyle then admitted that his impression of her was only from seeing her reading the news, and that he doesn’t know her personality.
He also asked if she was worried about people judging her for her personality and not just her newsreading skills, which she jokingly responded: “I wasn’t until now, until you piped up.”
It was first announced over the weekend that Natalie, who has been the newsreader on Sunrise for close to two decades, will take over from Sam after her departure from the show.
“Sunrise has been my work family for 18 years and while I’ve absolutely loved my role as newsreader, I’ve now been given the chance to move half a metre along the desk closer to Kochie and give something new a try,” Natalie said in a statement.
“I like to think of it as, same same but different. I can’t wait!”
Meanwhile, Sam Armytage announced her resignation live on air in an emotional piece-to-camera, saying: “The time has come for the sun to set on my time at Sunrise.
“I have always been brave and fearless in my career and this decision is no different.”
She went on to say that she wanted to take a break and “find some peace and calm”.
“I go out of this job at a time of my own choosing and on top of the ratings, which not many people on television can say they do,” she added.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
