Jackie O Henderson storms out of KIIS FM show over radio station’s gender pay gap fail

Jackie O Henderson marched out of KIIS FM during her top-rating program after learning the station has the highest gender pay gap disparity across Australian radio.

Jackie ‘O’ Henderson has marched out of KIIS FM during her top-rating program after learning the station has the highest gender pay gap disparity across Australian radio.

The broadcaster, 49, whose co-host Kyle Sandilands famously fought for her to secure equal pay on their hit radio program, was left shocked on Tuesday after learning that equal pay was not enjoyed by her colleagues.

The duo have signed a 10-year deal purportedly worth $200 million over a decade or $10 million each a year.

“Southern Cross Austereo has a disgraceful 5.9% pay gap. At Nova and Smooth FM it is even worse, six per cent. But unfortunately, the number one spot is at KIIS FM,” Sandilands told listeners on Tuesday.

“At the top of the tree with a 12 per cent pay gap disparity.”

Jackie O stormed out of a show after learning her station KIIS FM has the highest gender pay gap disparity across Australian radio. Picture: Instagram/kyleandjackieo

Series producer Intern Pete Deppeler and a female KISS FM colleague revealed the female producer was only being paid half of what Deppeler was.

“Are you freaking joking? Why is Peter getting that much money? I’m so angry about that, it makes my blood boil,” Jackie O said.

She then exited the studios with female staff.

“We’ve all gone,” she said.

Her co-host then told listeners, “We are just here with the fellas. I don’t know whether I am enjoying this, bring the girls back!”

According to the new data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency the national gap for total remuneration sits at 19 per cent and the median Australian female worker is taking home $18,461 less than their male counterpart.

For the first time, the Albanese Government has mandated companies publish the data so it can be compared within and across industries.

But National MPs Matt Canavan dumped on the decision to publish pay gap data complaining that it will hurt men’s feelings so much it will send them into the arms of Andrew Tate who has described women as “dumb hoes.”

The Queensland Senator has branded the first major gender pay gap report as “useless” and an “annual Andrew Tate recruitment drive”.

“These types of reports are becoming annual Andrew Tate recruitment drives, all they do is spread division and resentment in our community,” he said.

“People, young men in particular, feel like they are now being discriminated against and that’s why they’re coming to watch the likes of Andrew Tate in droves.”

His remarks dominated Parliament with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher and Workplace Minister Tony Burke calling on Peter Dutton to repudiate the comments.

“People on this side know that releasing that sort of data is effective and you will only find in the other side of politics anyone arguing that it is useless,‘’ he said.

“The days of secretly paying women less than men are now over.”

Series producer Intern Pete Deppeler (above with Kyle, Jackie) revealed he was being paid twice the amount of a female producer. Picture: Supplied

Kyle Sandilands has previously revealed he felt “paralysed” when in the early days of his on-air partnership with Jackie ‘O’ when he realised he was significantly out-earning her.

His $258,000 pay packet in 1999 when he replaced ‘Ugly’ Phil O’Neill on the Hot30 Countdown was around $80,000 more than his female co-host who had been on the program much longer.

“I was sort of paralysed… I was like ‘What do you mean you get 80 [thousand dollars]? You’re Jackie O’. I just assumed they were getting the same. I didn’t know there was diversity or difference. I knew nothing about that,” he told Mia Freedman’s No Filter podcast.

Sandilands said he took the issue to then general manager of 2DayFM and Triple M, Cathy O’Connor, and said the money had to be equal.

“I said ‘It has to be 50/50. I expect her to be in there all the time, like I will be, and you’re just going to have to take from mine and just make up the difference with hers, pay her the difference out of mine and make it even’. And I was terrified of Cathy O’Connor, not because she was horrible, but she was just a very impressive, strong woman that you didn’t want to get on the wrong side of. But she was lovely.”

Kate Langbroek previously revealed she earned 40 per cent less than her radio co-host Dave Hughes. Picture: Supplied Ten

In recent years, Jackie “O” Henderson and her co-host signed a staggering new contract that is reportedly worth more than $200 million and will keep them on air with KIIS FM for the next 10 years.

But KISS FM has hit the headlines in the past over huge pay disparities between star radio presenters after Kate Langbroek revealed she earned 40 per cent less than her radio co-host Dave Hughes.

“Hughesy and I did a radio show together for eighteen years and had never ever discussed what we got paid,” she told The Project.

“It turned out he was getting paid 40 per cent more than I was. This was the Hughesy and Kate show that we had made together and didn’t exist without us,” she said.

“Show business is not a standard situation but we did a radio show together for 18 years. It changed our relationship when we talked about money and I then left.”

Hughes, 52, and Langbroek co-hosted the Hughesy and Kate drivetime show on KIIS FM until 2017, before jumping over to the Hit Network from 2018.

Before jumping ship to the rival station, the pair had a candid discussion on-air about discovering their pay disparity at KIIS.

“You don’t know about this,” Langbroek said on air at the time. “I found out last year that you get paid 40 per cent more than I do for doing this show.”

Hughes was audibly stunned and didn’t know what to say in response.

“I had no idea what we get paid,” he told Langbroek, “Now I feel terrible”.

“You don’t need to feel terrible,” Langbroek told Hughes. “It wasn’t your fault that you were born with two oranges in a string bag [testicles]”.

Hughes then offered to take a pay cut to ensure Langbroek was again able to get equal pay.

The drive hosts then moved to a new show with Southern Cross Austereo next year.

“When we go to our new job, we get pay parity,” Langbroek said on Tuesday. “And we’re on parity now.”

“And I couldn’t be happier, obviously,” Hughes said. “You deserve it”