Kyle Sandilands’ brutal comment to Australian Idol runner-up

There were plenty of jaw-dropping moments during the “trainwreck” Australian Idol finale – but one remark from Kyle Sandilands caused audible gasps.

There were plenty of tears, awkward blunders and powerhouse performances during the Australian Idol grand final – but it was one brutally honest comment made by Kyle Sandilands that left the audience reeling.

On Sunday night, the KIIS radio host – who appeared on the judges’ panel alongside Harry Connick Jr, Meghan Trainor and Amy Shark this season – gave a particularly blunt assessment of the future of the show’s runner-up as he faced the finalists.

“Whoever wins will have the record … The other one I will never hear from again,” Sandilands said.

Kyle Sandilands gave a blunt assessment of the situation.

As audible gasps were heard from the studio audience, he doubled down.

“Well, I’m just saying,” Sandilands said, before half-heartedly claiming he’d try to “keep in touch” with the runner-up.

The person who eventually took that position was 15-year-old Phoebe Stewart, who came in second to 23-year-old Royston Sagigi-Baira.

The two finalists with hosts Ricki-Lee Coulter and Scott Tweedie.

However, before the winner was even announced, the teenager fell down the stairs and landed on the floor as she and Sagigi-Baira approached the judges’ panel.

Her fellow contestant rushed to help her up, and she was quick to laugh about it.

“Good role models don’t do that, guys. That’s not a good example. Continue!” she joked.

She later made another gracious reference to the embarrassing incident, thanking everyone “for not laughing too much” when she “fell down the stairs”.

The teenager tripped and fell down the stairs, but quickly recovered.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the only gaffe of the evening, with Sagigi-Baira’s final performance marred by technical issues.

After he was announced as the winner, he took to the stage to belt out his single, Invincible – and while he was able to showcase his powerhouse voice, it was clear something was wrong with the audio.

At one point, he turned around, confused, as he mumbled through the lyrics, and then muttered “What?” as he tapped his ear, indicating he couldn’t hear the guide track.

Despite the unlucky glitch, he had plenty of reason to celebrate his win: He’s now $100,000 in prize money richer, and has scored a Sony record deal and free trip to the US to work with industry heavyweights.

Originally published as Kyle Sandilands’ brutal comment to Australian Idol runner-up