Kyle Sandilands lashes Guy Sebastian critics amid vax scandal

He’s not one for holding back, and Kyle Sandilands was true to form as he defended Guy Sebastian amid controversy over his vaccination stance.

Kyle and Jackie O have slammed the “stacks-on” criticism of Guy Sebastian, claiming people are “trying to kick the boot in” as the singer continues to face backlash over a video shared to his Instagram.

In the clip, The Voice judge appeared to hose down his support of the music industry-led pro-vaccination campaign #VaxTheNation, prompting many to accuse him of fuelling the anti-vaxxer movement.

Sebastian claimed that his Instagram post promoting the campaign had been shared without his “direct involvement” and that he was “really sorry” as he “would never, ever tell people what to do when it comes to their personal health choices”.

The apology was widely criticised by many people, including a number of his industry peers who said they felt “disappointed” by his actions.

Addressing the drama on KIIS this morning, Kyle hit out at those attacking Sebastian.

“It’s too much – the annoying thing about the whole Guy Sebastian fiasco is that he’s started getting accused of being anti-vax and pining to the masses, but he wasn’t doing that,” the host said.

“He’s vaccinated, he believes in vaccination, he wants to get back to work.”

Sebastian posted the video on Instagram on Monday. Picture: guysebastian/Instagram

Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O defended him on-air on Thursday. Picture: Supplied

Jackie O pointed out that people were angry that Sebastian appeared to be “ashamed” of his pro-vaccination position, prompting Kyle to defend him again.

“He’s not ashamed, they’re wrong,” he insisted.

“He felt it (the original post) may have been too preachy, because he knows people who have suffered cancer, cancer survivors … people are stuck between a rock and a hard place, and he knows them. He just didn’t explain it clearly enough.”

Kyle accused people of peddling a “fake narrative of the real story”, fuelling the outrage, and criticised musician Ben Lee directly for publicly calling out Sebastian.

“Look at the people that had a whinge, people no one even cares about – Ben Lee. Who could care less about what Ben Lee thinks. You did one song 15 years ago, a**ehole, so pull your furry head in and stop b*tching about someone else who does remarkably well.”

Lee had been among those in the industry who pulled no punches in their criticism earlier in the week, tweeting in response to Sebastian’s apology video: “To be honest, this is a really sad example of what happens when your career is dependant on trying to be all things to all people.”

Ben Lee was among those in the industry who called out Sebastian’s stance publicly. Picture: Supplied

Kyle and Jackie O also hit out at the “ridiculous” rumours suggesting Sebastian had had a hand in “bringing covid to Australia in the first place” due to a picture he had posted on Instagram shortly before the outbreak.

Alongside the photo of himself in Wuhan – the Chinese city where the virus originated – in November 2019, Sebastian wrote: “Ate some seriously interesting things (more to come about that) and met some beautiful people.”

“I bet the poor guy never thought for a second when he posted that video that all this was going to come of it,” Jackie said.

“It’s getting a bit beyond a joke. Let’s just remember that everyone’s going through it, and it is Guy’s prerogative to do what he wants on his social media.”

The #VaxTheNation campaign at the centre of the drama is the result of music industry heavyweights including Jimmy Barnes, Amy Shark, and the Hilltop Hoods joining forces with major record labels, ticketing agencies and festival organisers to call on Aussies to help “stop the interruptions” to the entertainment industry and help end the cycle of lockdowns.

Sebastian is promoted among the high-profile names behind the cause.

Despite all the confusion around his involvement and vaccination stance, Sebastian was blunt in his statement to news.com.au.

“There is no confusion, I made the personal decision to be double vaccinated. I support the music industry initiatives to revive our industry, however, I personally don’t believe it is my place to deal in absolutes to tell people what to do in regards to their personal health choices. We need to remember to communicate with empathy and understanding. This has always been my goal.”

The support he was shown on KIIS this morning was a far cry from what was on offer over at 2GB in the wake of the video’s release, with Ray Hadley going head-to-head with Sebastian in a tense on-air exchange after telling him to “get the splinters out of your a**e; get off the fence”.