Lawrence Mooney suddenly departs Triple M breakfast show

Lawrence Mooney has suddenly departed his breakfast radio show, more than a week after mysteriously vanishing from the airwaves.

Lawrence Mooney has abruptly left his Triple M breakfast show, Moonman in the Morning, the Southern Cross Austereo network announced today.

Rumours have been swirling for days over the comedian’s future on the network, as he’s been absent from the show for more than a week, with no explanation offered by co-hosts Jess Eva and Chris Page.

The network confirmed his departure in a statement on Monday morning, revealing he has left the network as of today.

“Mooney was a regular on Triple M breakfast in Sydney and Melbourne, before officially joining Triple M Brisbane’s breakfast show in 2016. He moved to Sydney breakfast in 2019, joining Jess Eva and Chris Page. SCA thanks Mooney for his contribution to the Triple M Network over the past five years,” read the brief statement.

Triple M's Moonman in the Morning breakfast team – Chris Page, Lawrence Mooney and Jess Eva.

It’s been reported that Mooney, 56, had fallen out with Eva and several other staff members as the show suffered dwindling ratings.

In the latest radio survey, Moonman in the Morning attracted just a 4.6 per cent share in the ratings, compared with FM leader The Kyle and Jackie O Show, who collected 10.7 per cent.

The show hit a ratings high of 6.9 per cent shortly after it took over the slot from The Grill Team, who had hung up their mics after nine years at the end of 2018.

According to entertainment reporter Peter Ford, it was an “internal” issue that led to Mooney’s abrupt departure from the airwaves.

“My information - which is very well-placed - says to me that it was an internal, off-air workplace issue that has led to this disappearance,” he told Seven’s The Morning Show today.

“What will happen in terms of money will be interesting, because he has another year to run on his contract and I don’t imagine (SCA) will just pay it out as simply as that.”

News.com.au has reached out to SCA for comment.

Mooney was hired to host the show in January 2019 on a rumoured $750,000 salary.

According to the Daily Mail, that was increased to between $1.5 and 2 million for 2020 and 2021.

Just last week, it was announced that retired NRL player and former Grill Team host Mark Geyer would be joining Triple M Sydney’s breakfast team in 2022 - a decision which may not have gone down well with Mooney, according to Mediaweek.

Lawrence Mooney on Triple M.

Mooney’s abrupt departure follows a turbulent few months for the star, who was caught out breaching Covid restrictions early on in Sydney’s recent extended outbreak and subsequent lockdown.

The presenter, who was working from Triple M offices in the CBD but living in the Southern Highlands, was busted holidaying in Byron just days after Sydney workers were ordered into lockdown.

“I know how serious this is and the impact lockdowns are having across the state and am very embarrassed by my misunderstanding and stuff up,” Mooney told Sydney Confidential after the publication caught him out via photos on his Instagram Story.

Calling the mishap an “honest mistake”, he added: “I feel like an absolute goose for not realising I wasn’t permitted to travel to Byron Bay during my break.”

However, his apology clearly wasn’t accepted by rival radio host, 2GB’s Ben Fordham, who slammed Mooney live on air during his show the following day, accusing him of telling “big, fat, rotten lies” when he claimed he wasn’t aware public health orders applied to him.

“Lawrence is telling lies,” Fordham claimed.

“He did know he wasn’t allowed to travel to Byron Bay, and I’ll prove it right now, because on Wednesday June 23, his own radio show posted this on social media,” he said, citing the message which outlined that if you lived or worked in Sydney, you could not travel outside metro Sydney for non-essential reasons.

“You won’t believe what we found - the next day, Lawrence Mooney said it himself live on the air,” Fordham revealed, running audio from the show in question.

Lawrence was then clearly heard saying: “There’s a whole lot of local government areas that have been deemed red zones in Sydney, that include Canada Bay, Inner West, City of Sydney, Woollahra, Waverly, Randwick and Bayside. If you live or work in those areas then you can’t leave those areas, unless you are an essential worker in one of those areas, then you can leave in order to go home.”

After pressing play on the recording, Fordham said: “So there you go, it came out of his own mouth on Thursday, June 24.”

“Lawrence, you knew you couldn’t go, you said it yourself … Busted. You’re telling big, fat, rotten lies and you know it.”