Kyle and Jackie O’s fiery interview: ‘It was a planned attack’

KYLE and Jackie O pulled no punches when interviewing the woman behind a petition demanding Here Come The Habibs be taken off the air.

THE activist who started a petition to pull controversial TV show Here Come The Habibs! has hit out at her treatment on the Kyle and Jackie O Show.

Candy Royalle appeared on the Kiss FM breakfast show on Tuesday to speak with the creators and stars of the show, Rob Shehadie and Tahir Bilgic, but was given minimal airtime before Sandilands pulled the plug on her. The creators of the show also branded her “annoying” and “a nobody” before she’d started speaking.

Kyle dominated the interview with activist Candy Royalle.

“It was a planned attack, it wasn’t a dialogue,” Royalle told AAP.

Royalle launched a change.org petition titled ‘Channel 9: Pull your racist show Here Come The Habibs’, attracting around 2600 signatories who agreed the show “further perpetuated stereotypes” and could potentially “contribute to racism in Australia”.

She was cut off repeatedly by host Sandilands during her brief appearance on the show — check out the segment below:

#HereComeTheHabibs! But Not Everyone Is Excited... Candy Has Started A Petition To Stop The Show! #KJshow https://t.co/blBA1CCc1v

— Kyle and Jackie O (@kyleandjackieo) February 8, 2016

When Royalle was explaining why she disapproved of the show, Sandilands interjected, asking her “Have you been to uni or something?

“I can’t understand ya... you’re using big words.”

Sandilands went on to say that any stereotypes the show may portray about the Lebanese community were true and therefore shouldn’t be causing offence.

“It’s not a stereotype, every Lebo I know looks like they’re on that ad,” he said.

As Royalle explained her issue with the show — “The problem is we’re being laughed at, perpetuating the same stereotypes” — Sandilands cut her off.

“Oh, you’re one of those. Let’s just get rid of her, she’s annoying,” he said, cutting off her line.

Royalle admitted she was contemplating pulling out of the interview at the last minute, having a feeling she would be ridiculed.

Poet and activist Candy Royalle says her planned interview with Kyle and Jackie O turned out to be a ‘planned attack’.

“I actually did want to pull out because I had a feeling it would be exactly what it was, which was a trap and that I wouldn’t be allowed to speak,” she said.

“But... I wanted an opportunity to try and put a counter view forward to that listenership.” She was surprised at how “vitriolic” the show’s creators were against her.

“They just wanted to attack, and personally attack, which I found really strange, but (it’s) evident that they’re feeling very defensive about the show,” she said.

The show premieres tonight on Channel 9.

After they’d hung up on Royalle, the show’s creators offered her a message:

“I’d like to say to Candy: I’m Lebanese background, and I’d rather people laugh with us than look at the media and the negativity we have in our community. You know what Candy, fix the negativity in our community and then come talk to us, because we’re letting people laugh with us.”

News.com.au’s resident Habib — journalist Rashell Habib — has also seen the first two episodes of Here Come The Habibs!, and delivers her verdict on the controversial comedy.