Australian Idol judging panel cops backlash for lack of diversity

The judging panel announcement for next year’s Australian Idol reboot on Channel 7 has incited criticism on social media for one reason.

Not everybody is rejoicing after this week’s huge Australian Idol reveal.

On Wednesday, KIIS FM radio host Kyle Sandilands announced he’d be joining Meghan Trainor, Amy Shark and Harry Connick Jr on the new judging panel of Channel 7’s impending Idol reboot.

Ricki-Lee, who rose to fame from the 2004 season of the show, and E! News host Scott Tweedie, have been named as hosts.

Naturally, the news prompted a wave of social media reaction – not all of it positive.

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US singer Meghan Trainor will judge Idol entrants.

Along with American singer Harry Connick Jr.

While many were thrilled to see that Channel 7 had snagged two international faces for the show, a number of Twitter users noted the lack of multicultural inclusion on the all-white cast.

“Where is the diversity?” questioned former ABC News reporter Mark Kearney.

“The OG Australian Idol had at the heart of its panel Marcia Hines. This one has … a foul shock jock with a history of racism, misogyny and homophobia? Yucky,” he added of Sandilands, who has a history of making controversial remarks on his morning radio show.

As recently as August, the new dad copped heat from an LGBTQ health body for his “hurtful” comments about Monkeypox, referring to the virus as “the big gay disease floating around”.

Kyle Sandilands was the first to announce the Australian Idol judges. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

Others pointed out the Idol of the early 2000s had greater representation.

“They legitimately had a more diverse judging panel back in 2003 (one woman of colour and three white guys which is still not good enough) than they do now this is just sad,” wrote Salomae Haselgrove beneath the announcement.

News.com.au has contacted Channel 7 for comment.

This is an epic and exciting opportunity to get judged by six white people.
(To be fair there is some diversity, one has a hyphen in their name.) https://t.co/vBSsBQhjWe

— Antoinette Lattouf (@antoinette_news) September 28, 2022

channel 7 are very grateful for meghan trainor (american) being the token diversity hire for the australian idol reboot

— jackson langford (@jacksonlangford) September 28, 2022

Not sure why anyone is surprised about the Australian Idol judging panel - the other talent shows on our screens are just as bad. If they want diversity they always just have Mel B on.

— Saman Shad (@muminprogress) September 28, 2022

I LoVe tHiS rEpReSenTatiOn oF oUr MuLtiCuLtuRaL cOunTrY 💀 ⚰️ 🗡 #australianidolhttps://t.co/0kuwkZ4Zc6

— JAGUAR JONZE (@JaguarJonze) September 27, 2022

Sandilands first unveiled the panel on Kyle and Jackie O on Wednesday morning alongside radio co-host Jackie “O” Henderson. The shock-jock revealed in August he would be the only original judge to reprise his role, ruling out the possibility of Marcia Hines, Ian Dickson and Mark Holden returning.

“(We) start filming the auditions next week. It’ll be me. The other Australian I’ve chosen, Amy Shark will be the other Australian. She’s excellent. She’s a nice girl but she’s been busy, she writes songs, she works hard, she’ll be fabulous,” he said.

“Meghan Trainor … and from American Idol … Harry Connick Jr. Yes grannies, get your panties wet now. Harry Connick Jr. is on Australian Idol. He’s a real crooner.”

Sandilands was previously a judge on Australian Idol while it was still airing on Channel 10, but was sacked in 2009 after a stunt on his radio show that saw a teenage rape survivor grilled about her sexual history live on air.

Kyle Sandilands and fiance Tegan Kynaston.

On 29 July 2009, a woman called in wanting her 14-year-old daughter to partake in the show’s ‘lie detector’ segment so she could find out whether she was sexually active.

The distressed teen began crying over the line of questioning and disclosed that she had been raped when she was 12, to which Sandilands replied: “Right … is that the only experience you’ve had?”

Connick Jr is also no stranger to Australian TV copping heat for its attitude towards race.

Harry Connick Jr. on Hey Hey It’s Saturday in 2009.

In 2009, the Grammy-award winning singer was visibly upset while appearing on the Hey Hey It’s Saturday reunion on Channel 9, which became engulfed in scandal after a group of performers appeared in blackface as ‘The Jackson Jive’.

Host Daryl Somers apologised to Connick Jr at the end of the show, to which the singer replied: “I know it was done humorously, but we’ve spent so much time trying to not make black people look like buffoons that when we see something like that we take it really to heart.

“I feel like I am at home here and if I knew that was going to be part of the show, I probably, I definitely, wouldn’t have done it,” he said.