Meshel Laurie speaks out in defence of Kyle Sandilands

Meshel Laurie has spoken out in defence of Kyle Sandilands, blasting those who criticised him amid his admission he is not doing so well.

TV and radio presenter Meshel Laurie has spoken out in defence of Kyle Sandilands after the star was criticised for making light of emotional and mental health issues and telling listeners to “tell no-one” if you’re feeling sad.

On his KIIS FM breakfast show Monday morning, Kyle broke down on air and admitted that, “inside, I’m very, very sad”.

He received an outpouring of support from friends, fans and family members after the admission, before saying on air yesterday that opening up was the “biggest mistake of my life” given the sheer volume of people that checked in.

“Every bastard and their dog sent messages,” he said. “Which is very nice, but all day – the phone (buzzing) it was so annoying.

“My message is, when you’re feeling sad, tell no-one,” he said.

Those comments didn’t sit well with Angela Mollard who, in an article published on news.com.au yesterday, wrote that Kyle’s words were “recklessly irresponsible” and that he had “trivialised mental health and pilloried those who had reached out to offer him support in the wake of his vulnerability”.

Mollard suggested Kyle should be taken off air “immediately for the health and safety of his audience who may take his damaging comments to heart”.

Kyle — in response to Mollard’s piece — has since told listeners his “tell no-one” stance was yet another joke.

Kyle Sandilands said this morning that his comments yesterday were in jest. Picture: Channel 9

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Now, Meshel Laurie, who has previously hosted radio shows on Nova and KIIS FM and is a mental health advocate, has defended Kyle in an op ed, saying the shock jock has been “bullied”.

Laurie, who also hosts Australian True Crime podcast, said that after she “openly took mental health leave” when her father was dying, she “received the message loud and clear” that “perceptions around (her) had changed” when she returned to work.

“My work was gone,” she said.

Meshel’s full post is below:

“If you want to talk about careless words, let’s start with calling out a person who’s just admitted to the world that he’s ‘very, very sad,’ and that he was so overwhelmed with emotion when put on the spot about his mental health in a public forum, he burst into tears and tried to make a joke of it, humiliating himself,” Laurie said.

“How is bullying Kyle Sandilands for his admission of his desperate mental health struggle under the guise of being concerned for him, (or something) helpful to him or anyone else suffering in silence? Calling for Kyle to be sacked for speaking publicly, in his own emotionally stunted way, further stigmatises speaking out, and above all, admitting to work colleagues and employers that we’re struggling.”

Comedian Meshel Laurie claims Kyle has been “bullied” for his admission. Picture: Jason Edwards

“All we ever seem to do in Australian media is speak solemnly about the need to talk more about mental health, and the need to encourage more openness in our culture and especially in our workplaces. Yet every time a media identity tries to do exactly that, they seem to be shut down and indeed, taken off the air very quickly.”

“I openly took mental health leave last year as my father was dying and received the message loud and clear when I tried to return to work. Perceptions around me had changed. My work was gone.

“We in the media are very good at preaching at the public about how they should behave, but the industry itself has a long way to go on this and many other issues.

“We are very good at wringing our hands and crying on air when it all goes terribly wrong. We ask why someone so loved, who we all thought we knew, didn’t just reach out and ask for help. Well here he is.”

“Calling for Kyle to be sacked for speaking publicly, in his own emotionally stunted way, further stigmatises speaking out,” Laurie said. Picture: Supplied

“He (Kyle) admits that even when people reach out to him with kindness, he doesn’t know how to accept it,” Laurie said. “He’s saying it publicly because he doesn’t know how to say it privately, but make no mistake, he is saying it.

“Make no mistake either about the fact that Kyle is loved, and his many fans are watching this play out and watching our reaction to it. Some of them will make decisions about their own mental health disclosures based on how he gets through his.

“Kyle Sandilands is speaking loud and clear. To use his admissions of profound sadness and inability to communicate personally as an opportunity to raise the tired old ‘they should be taken off air’ campaign is frankly grotesque.

“He has presented us with an incredible opportunity to move the conversation around mental health in Australia forward, at a time when we desperately need to do it. On top of that, I reckon he’s just the kind of adventurous, generous man who’ll keep talking if we keep listening.”