Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson allegedly had a fiery argument months before the on-air bust-up that led to their split, new court documents reveal.
According to defence documents filed in the Federal Court on Tuesday by ARN, Sandilands allegedly told his co-host to “get your f—ing shit together” or “don’t f—ing bother coming back” in an extraordinary off-air blow-up.
Reporter Gabrielle Boyle read out a word-for-word exchange between the hosts that had been tendered for court on Today this morning.
Watch the video above.
“Kyle, that’s a bit rough, like f—en hell, I haven’t done anything to f—en cop it,” Henderson allegedly said in the court documents, News Corp reports.
It’s alleged Sandilands responded: “You wanna know the truth, here’s the truth. Today’s the first day you’ve ever paid attention or had to carry anything in the opener, and it’s all s–t… she’s too much of a mother hen and not focused on the show enough.
“Don’t f—ing bother coming back either until you get your f—ing shit together like a normal person.
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“I’ve been carrying this show for a f—ing year… I’m just left here with a limp d–k in my hand.”
Nine.com.au is not suggesting the allegations are true, just that they were filed int he defence dociments.
The Commonwealth Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) – a subsidiary of KIIS FM broadcaster ARN Media – detailed the previously unknown incident in its latest legal move in a battle against the former radio duo.
Both are suing their former employer for wrongful termination.
The announcement comes three days before Sandilands and Henderson are set to head to the Federal Court in Sydney in separate legal battles against ARN Media, the parent company of their former employer KIIS FM.
Nine.com.au has contacted representatives for Sandilands and Henderson for comment.
Kyle Sandilands’ case against ARN
ARN tore up Sandilands’ $100 million contract after the shock jock’s on-air clash with Jackie O on February 20 ended their time together on the long-running show.
He has consistently denied breaching the terms of his contract.
Sandilands formally launched legal action in the Federal Court against ARN on March 23, claiming wrongful termination.
He is asking to return to work on the show for the remainder of his 10-year contract, which was due to end in December 2034.
During the now infamous on-air clash, Sandilands told Henderson she was “off with the fairies” and that her fixation on astrology had made her “unworkable”.
Henderson tearfully left the studio and didn’t return to airwaves. On March 3, ARN said Henderson confirmed she could “no longer work” with Sandilands and her contract was terminated shortly after.
On the same day, Sandilands was given 14 days to remedy the “breach of conduct,” which he later claimed in his statement of claim was “practically impossible” to do.
“Mr Sandilands was not given a reasonable opportunity to remedy the Impugned Conduct,” Sandilands’ counsel said in the court documents seen by nine.com.au.
The court documents added that “any opportunity that Mr Sandilands might otherwise have had to remedy the Impugned Conduct was rendered practically impossible or unreasonable” by the decision to terminate Henderson.
The court documents also deny that comments made by Sandilands during the row caused “serious and imminent injury” to the wider business, and that his comments to Henderson were not “conduct of a kind that constituted a radical departure”.
Sandilands claims he abided by his contractual conditions, including using “his best endeavours to provide an entertaining and enlivening program”.
His counsel are asking the court that “the Purported Notice of Termination is void and of no effect,” and “an order that the BSA [Broadcasting Services Agreement] be specifically performed”.
Under the agreement between CBC and Sandilands’ company, Quasar, Sandilands would receive $7.4 million in cash each year for the remainder of his contract and around $800,000 in allowances, consultancy fees and air time.
ARN, the parent company of KIIS FM, which previously broadcast Sandilands’ show for more than a decade, said it disputed the claims and would defend them.
Its subsidiary, Commonwealth Broadcasting Corporation, is also named in the lawsuit.
Jackie ‘O’ Henderson’s case against ARN
Exactly one week after Sandilands filed his suit, Henderson filed her own $82.25 million suit against ARN.
A statement to shareholders shared via the ASX confirmed Jackie O had commenced legal proceedings against her former employer, alleging her termination from her KIIS FM radio show with Sandilands was against the Fair Work Act.
ARN said it disputed Henderson’s claims and will defend against the suit in court.
The allegation was contained in an application filed on March 30 in the Federal Court of Australia.
The court documents, seen by nine.com.au, show Henderson complained about Sandilands after an incident back in August 2025, when she accused him of berating her during their popular show and said she was on “period time”.
That was six months before her on-air clash with Sandilands in February 2026 that ended their working partnership.
After the August incident, Henderson reportedly demanded the chairman and chief executive of ARN, which owns KIIS FM, intervene to stop Sandilands treating her as if they were in an “abusive relationship”, the court documents show.
Henderson also reportedly brought Sandilands’ behaviour to the attention of ARN bosses in text messages back in February.
She is now seeking more than $82 million in compensation from ARN after it tore up her contract.
Jackie O’ Henderson’s career in photos
Henderson is also claiming the station breached workplace rules by retaliating against her after she exercised her rights to complain about Sandilands’ behaviour.
Henderson’s lawyers claim she was not offered a new show by ARN before the company terminated her contract on March 3, despite the network telling the stock market and the public that it had.
Her lawyers are also arguing that the radio network made no attempt to intervene during Sandilands’ rant on February 20 – the last time the two were on-air together.
The court filing reportedly contains text messages that show Henderson told ARN executives after the February incident that his claims she had an obsession with astrology and was acting unprofessionally were “unfair, inappropriate and completely unprovoked”.
The documents also show Henderson raised concerns with KIIS FM station manager Derek Bargwanna in August, following complaints from listeners.
“On 11 September 2025, Ms Henderson sent a text message to Mr Bargwanna, in response, and said, ‘Yeah it’s fine today. But let’s make sure [chairman] Hamish [McLennan] and [then-chief executive] Ciaran [Davis] start to think about how to address this,” the document states.
“We are getting a lot of complaints from listeners, calling it an abusive relationship, women especially.
“I can send you though some [of] the examples.”
Bargwanna then told Henderson that he was “all over that” and had spoken with both Davis and McLennan twice about the issue.
The document also claims Henderson complained about Sandilands’ conduct on August 20, when he made “offensive and degrading” comments about her personal and dating life, including saying “you’ll never find anyone because there is, all of these requirements that you have…”
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The court document also lists a number of communications claiming senior ARN executives were aware from September 2025 about Henderson’s complaints.
Her lawyers will likely argue this supports claims the February 20 incident was not an isolated conflict.
According to Henderson’s statement of claim, which was filed on March 30, she was unfairly terminated. She is asking for compensation of “at least” $82,250,000.
Her statement of claim alleges that the ASX announcement detailing her termination on March 3 included “misleading and deceptive statements” under Australian Consumer Law.
In a statement to the ASX, ARN said Henderson had made “psychosocial health and safety and bullying complaints” to the station in relation to Sandilands’ conduct toward her both on February 20 and prior to this.
It told the market she had declared she could not work with Sandilands, which effectively ended her contract.
The on-air clash that derailed Kyle and Jackie’s $200 million deal
The on-air fight began after Jackie O read from Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s astrology birth chart and Sandilands complained about her interest in astrology charts.
“Your fixation on this has made you almost unworkable,” Sandilands told her.
“You are off with the fairies with this s—, it’s mental.”
He claimed her fixation on astrology charts made her sound like a “drug addict”.
Henderson has previously opened up on air about addiction issues that led to her going to rehabilitation in the US in 2022.
Henderson said Sandilands’ accusations were “so unfair” and that he was attacking her on air.
“I would never say things like that about you,” she said.
“It’s a total attack, it really is. Kyle, to say ‘you don’t know what the F is going on, you’re not doing your job,’ that’s an attack and I wouldn’t do that.”
Sandilands and Henderson have been in an on-air partnership for 27 years.
They moved to breakfast in 2005 and then to KIIS in 2014.
They have been under contract in a lucrative $200 million, 10-year deal that was set to run until December 2034.
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