Broadcaster reveals support for Pauline Hanson after KIIS contract settlement; Ben Fordham feud
Updated ,first published
The day after Kyle Sandilands told an industry podcast he had secured wealthy backers for his new media venture, the shock jock was spotted having lunch at CBD steakhouse Grill Americano with multimillionaire businessman John Singleton and Sydney nightclub boss John Ibrahim.
The trio were joined by John Singleton Group CEO David Norris and were photographed by a paparazzi shaking hands outside Grill Americano, Sydney’s first luxury eatery by Chris Lucas, king of the Melbourne restaurant famous for its tableside tiramisu and $285 steaks.
Sandilands settled her lawsuit against KISS FM owner ARN for $12 million on Wednesday, she said on Thursday. Game Changers He said there was a podcast where billionaires he didn’t know “came out of business to meet me when they heard I was starting something after this termination.”
“I have more lunches and everything tomorrow with potential investors.”
Sandilands and Ibrahim, a former nightclub owner nicknamed “The Cross King”, are old friends. Ibrahim served as best man at the broadcaster’s wedding in 2023. Sandilands was also interested in some of Ibrahim’s former Kings Cross premises, the Piano Room and the Trademark Hotel.
Singleton, an 84-year-old advertising entrepreneur, has a long history of media involvement. It owned a stake in Macquarie Media, the former owner of 2GB, before selling it to Nine (which owns this imprint) in 2019.
Sandilands was taken off the air in early March, weeks after berating co-host Jackie “O” Henderson to the point of allegedly refusing to work with her. He was later fired for what the station claimed was gross misconduct. Sandilands sued the company for $85 million, claiming his behavior was exactly what he was assigned to do and was not grounds for termination.
To mark the end of this legal battle, Sandilands tuned into an hour-long podcast released on Friday morning, in which he accused top-tier talkback radio host Ben Fordham of being a fair-weather dude.
Sandilands claimed Fordham let her down by publicly casting doubt on the value of her show and the durability of her partnership with Jackie “O” Henderson after it went off the air.
He said Fordham later messaged him and asked him to invite him to his show on 2GB, previously owned by Nine, with this imprint. “I said, ‘No, you were very bad about this. F— you,'” Sandilands said. Game Changers podcast.
“And [Fordham] ‘Oh, don’t flatter,’ he writes. I said, ‘Do you want a slap? For example, watch your mouth.’ For example, I don’t put up with his nonsense. And some people… I’m going to slap… I’m going to slap him. I don’t care if she’s chatty as if she deserves a slap.
On Friday morning, Fordham denied Sandilands had threatened to slap him and accused the shock jock of harboring “aggressive fantasies”.
“I ended the message with ‘damn’ but he didn’t text back. Sorry for ruining your fantasy, Kyle.”
Defiant Sandilands also discussed her relationship with Henderson, her sacking by the ARN and her growing affiliation with Pauline Hanson’s One Nation.
Sandilands emphasized that her relationship with Henderson had improved and that the two exchanged messages during off-air time.
“We’re not friends,” he said.
“Everybody should know that we texted each other over and over again, behind our lawyers’ backs, behind our managers’ backs.
“I will always adore and love her and my door is always open.”
Henderson’s lawyers at the hearing in March in question They did not want to put their client in the same “confined space” as Sandilands, who they said “caused significant psychological harm”.
Sandilands’ $12 million deal was significantly lower than the $85 million he originally sought. But the radio presenter said he had “put his ego aside” by accepting ARN’s settlement offer and had already spent more than $1 million in legal fees over the matter.
“I can’t let the ego thing get in the way of what the family really needs,” he said.
“I put that aside and thought, you know what, I’ll take the crappy amount they’re offering.”
This imprint revealed on Friday that Sandilands came out in April, a month after parting ways with ARN. took out a mortgage It allowed him to borrow another $2 million on the unsold Glenorie property at an interest rate of up to 30 percent.
He said he felt financial pressure when he was off air but was supported by his bankers and reassured by his manager.
“I couldn’t be more surprised, excited and grateful to the team at NAB; they almost felt like they were the SES,” he said.
“They said, ‘Whatever you need to help you, we can help you relax, change things, or pause,’ and it felt like a hug from them, which I didn’t expect from a bank,” he said.
Sandilands also revealed that she had spoken to One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and helped spread her message, but the party denied claims that the one-time KIIS star had officially worked with her.
“I took Pauline to meet some people she didn’t know… mostly people from the upper society, upper society, and they showed great interest in her messages,” he said.
He said he “loved the orange wave.”
One Nation chief of staff James Ashby said Sandilands was a good person and believed Hanson had been mistreated.
“I know Pauline reached out to me when things were going bad. She had a lot of time for him and wanted to make sure he was okay,” Ashby told this imprint. “I think he’s a legend.”
But Ashby said Sandilands “does not work for One Nation”, including in any official or unofficial capacity.
“Not at all,” he said.
“[Sandilands] Ashby said he deserved to be on the air again.
“I have no doubt Pauline will be on her show and the boss won’t mind,” Ashby said.
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Kishor Napier-Raman is senior business writer for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. He previously worked as a CBD columnist and reporter in the federal parliament press gallery.Connect with: X or email.
Nick Bonyhady is the business editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. He is a former deputy federal editor, technology editor and industrial relations correspondent.Connect with: X or email.
