Tags
2DayFM, gimmick, Jackie O, Kyle Sandilands, lie detector, Lies, no appology, rape, Sex, Trauma, win Pink concert tickets
Ooooh, I’m hopping mad!
This is a HUGE story in Australia right now – the Sydney-based Kyle and Jackie O breakfast radio show ran some kind of gimmicky competition to win Pink concert tickets.
I’m sure if Pink heard about this, she’d be appalled.
The set up? Apparently, two people call in, one gets hooked up to a lie detector and the other asks the questions.
Who calls in? An entirely unfit mother dragging her fourteen year old daughter on the show. That should’ve been a red flag right there.
The producers knew in advance what kind of questions the mother wanted to ask her daughter – whether she takes drugs and has sex.
Yep, she’s legally a minor and her mother wants to ask her these questions on live radio. Somehow neither the producers or DJs or anyone connected with the show saw anything wrong with this.
Then, it goes horribly wrong for them.
Because it turns out the girl was raped when she was twelve, something the mother (words fail me) KNEW ABOUT already, but when asked on air, at first claimed she didn’t know if her daughter had had sex!
Under pressure to answer questions, the girl gets emotional and blurts out her painful story. On live radio.
King Bumbling Idiot Kyle (well known for his general idiocy and arrogance) clearly didn’t want too many seconds of silence go by, so asks her:
Right. And is that the only experience you’ve had?
The mother then admits she knew about that, but wanted to know if that was the only time!!
Mercifully, Kyle-the-Fuckwit’s sidekick interrupts, ends the segment and the girl doesn’t have to answer. Both shock jocks/idiot people ramble on about offering counselling to the girl – which she’s had none of to-date (thanks mum!).
Listen to an audio of the segment.
The next day, the King Moron writes a blog post defending himself and claiming he didn’t realise he’d said what he said. My blood is boiling!
It’s wonderful how everyone wants to avoid blame. No one wants to take responsibility. The whole thing is just sick!
Thankfully, the police and child services are investigating the situation.
Sure, Kyle and Jackie weren’t solely responsible for what happened, but they sure are responsible for how they handle themselves. And how they dealt with things afterwards.
Kyle was quoted as saying: We’re not on a time delay, but even if we were, I wouldn’t have dumped the segment… There was no breach of any radio code. What I’m most annoyed about is that some of the press have jumped on this and made it out to be a stunt and a ratings ploy.
I’d like to scratch his eyes out for that statement alone!
Let’s not forget that this incident could and probably did trigger a whole bunch of listeners dealing with their own trauma/abuse/assault/rape/violence.
Or that the girl, already traumatised, is now embarrassed too? That all of Australia knows what happened to her?
I’m busy making complaints to the broadcasting authorities and leaving comments on blogs. I simply can’t tell you how furious this makes me.
But I’m not alone. The uproar is widespread, thankfully.
Some of the news coverage:
- Girl’s rape revelation sinks radio stunt
- Call to sack radio hosts
- Kyle and Jackie O: radio rape case to be investigated
- Austereo in crisis over Kyle & Jackie O rape debacle
If only they’d all say sorry, unequivocally and with no if’s or but’s.
Maybe then I’d feel they were genuinely contrite for this prank, instead of just patting themselves on the back for organising counselling sessions and quietly celebrating the publicity this has generated while doing what they can to avoid being sued.
Grrrr!
**UPDATE** Looks like the public outcry has been taken seriously. The show has been suspended indefinitely with Kyle saying he is ‘unable to work’ or something like that.
**Update #2** OOOH! Kyle is also a judge on Australian Idol. Or he WAS until today. He’s been sacked, thanks to the powers of an international franchise (Idol – see its good for something!).
I really hope that everyone involved takes a good hard look at themsevelves in the house of mirrors and wakes up to the truth of their abhorrent actions!
**Update #3** MediaWatch’s take on the events, PLUS… they shed light on the vile two-some’s other deplorable antics.
~Svasti
Svasti: A Journey From Assault To Wholeness 
sick sick sick. my blood would be boiling, too, svasti….
“It’s wonderful how everyone wants to avoid blame. No one wants to take responsibility”
Nowadays that is our modern mantra, in my opinion. No one is willing to fucking OWN IT! It’s amazing to me that even in the yoga world, which in actuality is just “the world”, there’s nothing special about it because people are people, there are people who can’t take responsibility and OWN IT. uh, like alcoholic studio owners, need I say more….
No wonder you’re boiling. I simply don’t understand the freaks that come up with this type of show. I hope the girl gets help– and I hope she doesn’t decide this is more than she can live with.
OMeffingG! That is one of the most horrible abuses of media that I have ever heard about. How could this radio station act so terribly inappropriately by not screening the people who would participate in such an event more thoroughly?
How could they not ask the mother what she was going to ask her child? That’s #1
How could they allow a MINOR to be subjected to such a terrible ordeal on PUBLIC radio? That’s #2.
How could this mother know her daughter had been raped, subject her daughter to what surely she should have known would be a painful memory of her first sexual experience? That’s #3.
Parents–I swear to God. It’s too bad that people aren’t given IQ and common sense tests before they are allowed to procreate. It would surely stop a great deal of child suffering in the world.
Svasti–my dear–I can see why you’re ‘hopping mad.’ I am too. I hope this radio station loses a lot of listeners.
Melinda
That is absolutely hideous! The mother… the radio hosts… the radio station. Wow. I think I’m the most upset with this girl’s “mother”. Shame on her.
Sometimes I think we’ve come a long way in regards to public perception of rape/abuse/trauma and then I hear stories like this one and I’m sad to say that our world still has a long way to go.
That poor girl. I don’t know how the law works in AU but I pray that the proper authorities intervene on this girl’s behalf.
How sad…
Unbelievable. Anything for the sake of profit. That’s what it comes down to, sadly. I think radio shows should have ratings just like movies–and the rating should be announced periodically (on the air).
I can’t believe the stupidity of some people.
what’s the latest on this, svast? any repercussions for these radio boobs?
@Linda-Sama – So sick! I’ve added an update – the show is now off the air. The reports vary between the show being suspended and Kyle being ‘unable to work’. The radio station plans to review the appropriateness of the material they use on their shows… GOOD!
You know, if he is stressed out, I’m sad to hear that. But perhaps now he can get the gravity of what they did, the whole picture.
@tricia – I think the girl is getting help, and the police and social workers are looking into the matter.
@Melinda – You echo the sentiments of many Australians. The outrage has been very heated here. And I’m grateful actually because I think Australians on the whole can be a little bit slack at speaking up. There have been calls for a major telecommunication company to withdraw its sponsorship deal from the station/show. I hope they do take action on that!
@Shattered – None of the people involved get out of this looking too good. They’ve all tried to downplay the whole thing but they haven’t been allowed to get away with it, which is great news. Too late for the girl however…
@avecchioni – That’s actually not a bad idea!
@Marisa – Me neither. I haven’t stopped feeling angry about this since it happened.
@Linda-Sama – Updates above, in the body of the post!
“I really hope that everyone involved takes a good hard look at themsevelves in the house of mirrors and wakes up to the truth of their abhorrent actions!”
Does anyone need further proof of the Law of Karma with what happened to that DJ? Every action has a reaction, either now or in another life!!
As for that mother, it boggles my mind how one needs a license for fishing (or whatever), but you don’t need anything to have a child!
@Linda-Sama – The mother is what we in Australia like to call a “dropkick”. Everyone is astounded by her stupidity and heartlessness. I hope she reflects on her actions.
But more than anything, I hope and pray for that girl. I know what its like to be that young and have sex, manipulation and violence in your life.
My wish for her is that the help she’s now getting is ongoing, and supports her to heal in all the ways she needs to heal. And that her rape and subsquent humiliation do not define how she sees herself, her self esteem and confidence and her ability to be happy and whole.
I wish that with all my heart.
I heard the clip on BBC radio this morning. I felt sad to hear it, and think that it shows how brutal and insensitive and harmful this kind of talk can be. So many things wrong with that scenario…
@yogabrooks – It is definitely sad. I do think that Kyle is the fall guy and that perhaps others aren’t being made to face up to their actions in the same way. But he has angered the Australian public for some time in different ways. The point is, if they’d never had that segment in the first place, none of this would have happened!