2GB vs KIIS: Deb Knight slams Kyle and Jackie O’s ‘appalling’ radio segment

2GB radio host Deborah Knight has slammed the Kyle and Jackie O show after an “appalling” segment that went to air.

KIIS radio hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson have been criticised for an “appalling” radio segment which went to air yesterday.

2GB host Deborah Knight called on the Kyle and Jackie O show to reconsider its content after a caller was berated by her partner on-air and referred to as an “object” during a prank call.

2GB host Deborah Knight has slammed KIIS hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson. Picture: Nigel Hallett

Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O are under fire for a controversial radio segment. Picture: Supplied

“Given the current situation that we’re in, and the current climate where respect for women is something that we need to look closely at, I think they need to look closely at what they let go to air,” Knight said on her radio program on Wednesday.

“It’s normalising this sort of language and this sort of destructive behaviour which I think is appalling.”

NSW minister Anne Ruston also criticised the segment on the Kyle and Jackie O show. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi

During the Kyle and Jackie O show’s Only Lying segment, listeners are encouraged to call a loved one and lie to them to win a cash prize.

“I had a listen to a bit of it and it went for around 7 minutes … The woman who took part yesterday, Jess, she called her partner Jake to say that she accidentally damaged his motorbikes and car trying to get something in their garage,” Knight explained.

“That snippet is just a taste of what he went on with calling her “stupid”, an “idiot”, swearing at her, warning her he was coming home and she better have packed her bags and gone.

“So he calls his partner an “object” and laughs and jokes about it but this is the problem, to have that happen and unfold is at the heart of the problem we’re facing in this country. The thing is, every radio station including this one has delay built in so that if someone says something that we think is inappropriate or appalling or they swear we can bring in that dump button. The team of producers could have done that on the Kyle and Jackie O show but they didn’t and Jackie was appalled by what she heard but it went to air.”

Knight spoke with Minister for Women’s Safety Anne Ruston, who also condemned the segment.

“It epitomises why we need to have a conversation with Australia … we saw yesterday the behaviour of a man who referred to his partner as an object … it’s a very good example of what we need to stop,” Ruston said.

A spokeswoman at the Australian Radio Network said, “ARN takes the issue of respect for women and women’s safety seriously. This has started an important conversation at ARN about how every one of us are part of this discussion on this important social issue.”