Australian radio show cancelled over rape scandal
Kyle Sandilands' Australian radio show cancelled over rape scandal
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Monday, 03, Aug 2009 05:37
By Lewis Bazley.
A controversial Australian radio show has been axed after an on-air lie detector segment saw a teenage girl reveal she had been raped.
The Kyle and Jackie O Show has been suspended indefinitely by Sydney radio station 2Day FM after public outrage at the incident, which was broadcast last Wednesday.
Presenter Kyle Sandilands has also been sacked from his role as a judge on Australian Idol over the scandal.
The episode in question occurred when a 14-year-old was interviewed while attached to a polygraph machine and quizzed about her sex life by her mother, who already knew she had been assaulted.
"I've already told you the story about this, and don't look at me and smile because it's not funny," the girl told her mother.
"Oh OK, I got raped when I was 12 years old," she said, with Sandilands accused of further insensitivity when he then asked: "Right, and is that the only sexual experience you've had?"
The segment was then quickly ended by co-host Jackie O'Neil.
Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd led the criticism of the broadcast, saying: "This is really off. It's wrong, shouldn't be done."
He added: "This is a young girl and I am, as I think most Australians are, really distressed at the way in which the young person has been treated in this way."
The show has since been put "into recess" and a statement from 2Day FM said Sandilands was "unable to perform his on-air duties at this time".
He has also been dismissed from Australian Idol, with broadcaster the Ten Network concerned about his contentious radio persona.
"Obviously culminating with events of last week, we have made the decision that Kyle will no longer be a judge on Australian Idol," confirmed programming chief David Mott in a statement.
"Australian Idol is very much a family programme and its appeal is very much right across the board and we'd like to think that all families can enjoy the program in front of the TV."