Publicists expose Kyle and Jackie O’s ‘disrespectful’ behaviour

A bunch of celebrity publicists have criticised the popular radio presenters for their ‘disrespectful and frustrating’ behaviour.

Kyle and Jackie O is the biggest radio show in Australia, and as such, you’d think publicists would be clamouring to get their talent on air with the popular duo.

But that is not the case.

A number of celebrity publicists have lifted the lid on what it’s really like working with the KIIS FM hosts, saying they’re “a nightmare” due to their “disrespectful” behaviour.

The claims were first aired on an episode of the Game Changers Radio: Melbourne Radio Wars podcast, with the hosts reading out an email they had received from an anonymous publicist who regularly books their ‘talent’ to appear on the KIIS FM radio show.

“We are feeding the beast as we are giving Kyle and Jackie O access to artists and stars when they do terrible interviews and are always late,” the publicist complained in the email.

“I had one TV publicist have to wait 45 minutes with their A-grade talent. They do it to everyone. It’s disrespectful and frustrating.”

The publicist said they have no choice but to continue booking their talent on Kyle and Jackie O’s show because they have such a huge audience.

“From a music point of view, the big dogs say we have to support them for the bigger picture and airplay, but artists don’t want to talk to them,” they wrote in the email.

Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O have been broadcasting together for more than 20 years.

Other publicists speak out

News.com.au reached out to several other experienced publicists who, on the condition of anonymity, agreed to share their experiences of working with the radio stars.

“They’re a nightmare, always have been,” one publicist said.

“Normally you get talent for a day or two to do some promo, so you’ve got to micromanage that day within an inch of its life so you can do as many interviews as possible.

“But every single time you go to them, they always leave you waiting,” the publicist said. “You will wait an hour (in the green room) and it just stuffs up your morning.

“I think it’s a power play for Kyle who thinks, ‘I’m the king of radio and you will all sit back and wait for me until I say you can come in.’”

Another publicist told news.com.au that Kyle and Jackie O often ignore them behind the scenes.

“Every other breakfast radio show that you do, the hosts come out and talk and are pleasant. But as soon as the interview ends and the music hits on Kyle and Jackie O, they go outside and smoke or vape.

“They don’t even talk to you,” they claimed.

Kyle and Jackie O’s studio is located in North Sydney. Picture: Supplied/ARN

Kyle and Jackie O have copped plenty of flak in the past few months for their risqué content, and the publicists we spoke to all agreed the show’s standards had dropped recently.

“They’ve lost it,” one said. “I don’t know if they’ve decided to double down on the smut because somebody has said something about it, but they talk to guests for 30 seconds and then they’ve got nothing and so they start asking them if they’ve done anal.

“It’s like, really? You haven’t got anything more than this?

“They went through a phase where they were one of the better interviews,” the same publicist said. “When Kyle is on song, nobody is a better broadcaster and he gives a really generous plug. But it just feels like they’ve lost their way a little bit lately.

“I think everybody walks away from them now going, ‘that was just weird,’” they said.

One publicist also spoke about the breakfast show’s large team of producers and assistants, saying, “they have so many staff members … and they just kind of stand around and clap and cheer and it’s kind of this strange, weird cult”.

They added, “once you leave the KIIS FM building, you walk out and go, ‘what the f**k was that?’”

Kyle and Jackie O with some of their team members.

Despite the delays and dodgy questions, all the publicists we spoke to said they were still willing to book their talent on Kyle and Jackie O’s show.

“Nowadays I’m very selective about which talent I put up for chats,” one told news.com.au.

“I only pick talent who I think can handle it, who are open to being asked about everything, including their sex lives.

“I find the interviews often run better if you don’t set parameters, because if you tell Kyle that certain topics are off limits, you can be guaranteed he will ask about them on air.”

Another added, “I always factor in delays when booking guests on Kyle and Jackie. Those delays often impact interviews we have lined up with other radio stations, but it’s usually worth it because their audience is so much bigger than all those other stations combined.”

A different publicist told news.com.au, “if you’ve got something really successful that everybody wants, there’s plenty of other things you can do, you don’t have to do Kyle and Jackie O.

“But if you don’t put somebody forward for Kyle and Jackie O and they see them on something else, then you hear from their producers and they’re a bit pissed off that it wasn’t put in front of them.

“You have to assess, is it worth it? How much time have we got with this artist and how can we make the most of their time?” they said.

News.com.au reached out to KIIS FM for a comment, with a rep saying, “There is no issue, and the show continues to enjoy huge stars”.

They added, “next week, Kyle & Jackie O will be live in LA, bringing exclusive interviews with some of the biggest names in entertainment including Dua Lipa, Jason Alexander, Katy Perry, Tate McRae, The Kid Laroi, Carmen Electra, Curtis Stone, Kendra Wilkinson and more.”

David Walliams recently appeared on KJ.

Rob Schneider made headlines for his comments on KJ.

In defence of Kyle and Jackie O

Craig Bruce, who is one of the co-hosts of the Game Changers Radio: Melbourne Radio Wars podcast, worked with Kyle and Jackie O for years when they broadcast on 2Day FM.

He stuck up for the pair on the latest episode, saying they never intended to upset their guests.

“I’ve never seen Kyle and Jackie go out of their way to do anything other than provide a fun experience for the people they talk to on the radio,” he said. “I don’t ever remember it being anything other than ‘let’s have some fun.’”

He added, “I think they’re really good at interviewing. They don’t have 20 questions in front of them. It’s just conversation and wherever it goes, it goes.”

Mr Bruce also addressed the lengthy delays guests face when appearing on the radio program.

“Running late is a function of the show,” he said. “Everything’s late because they just talk for as long as they want … so an 8am interview on the run sheet might happen at 8.35. But they’re not doing it deliberately to piss off an artist. It’s just how the show works.”

Originally published as Publicists expose Kyle and Jackie O’s ‘disrespectful’ behaviour