Jackie O Henderson’s decision to disappear from radio for a week following her on-air spat with Kyle Sandilands has exposed a crucial truth.
Jackie O Henderson disappearing from radio following her on-air spat with co-star Kyle Sandilands has proved one very important fact – the pair need each other.
Whether you love or hate The Kyle and Jackie O Show, you can’t deny its mammoth radio success.
The duo has ruled the airwaves for two decades and stuck together through marriage breakdowns, health scares and secret rehab visits.
Last week, the pair got into a fiery argument on air after Kyle accused Jackie O of being “off with the fairies” and claimed she was “unfocused” at work due to her obsession with astrology and star charts.
The criticism reminds me of the “feedback” I used to get from my dad when I was a teenager. He wanted to pontificate about world events, and I wanted to write fanfiction about Twilight.
Kyle doesn’t understand star signs in the same way my dad simply didn’t understand vampires that fall in love with high schoolers. Which, in retrospect, is a little complex.
If you listen back to their fight, there’s something particularly unnerving about it. Maybe because it makes you feel like a kid in the back seat of your parents’ car while they’re arguing in front of you.
The duo often make jokes at each other’s expense, but no one actually wants to hear them fighting. It just feels wrong, like seeing Tyra Banks reduced to flogging ice-cream in Sydney.
Reduced to tears, Jackie O declared she was “totally offended” by the callous feedback and hasn’t been back on air since. Kyle revealed to listeners early in the week that she was taking a week off to “gather her thoughts” and would likely return Monday. He also admitted that he sincerely never meant to actually upset his longtime friend and colleague.
“I regret hurting her feelings,” he said, before adding that he’d be happy again when the pair were back on-air together.
Sandilands has become a one-man band this week, hosting the show solo alongside newsreader Brooklyn Ross. On Thursday, he chucked a sickie and the hit radio show was forced to air re-runs all morning.
Among the chaos there are rumours swirling that the pair have staged the bust-up to win ratings but that theory completely undermines the fact that the show just isn’t as good without Jackie O.
This isn’t some big dig at Kyle: there is no doubt that the shock jock is entertaining and funny and has been keeping things chugging along just fine in Jackie’s absence, but it’s undeniable the duo’s secret sauce is their on-air chemistry.
Much like Melbourne comedy duo Hamish and Andy, the pair work best when they’re together because they bring out the very best in each other.
Kyle is at his funniest when he is bouncing off Jackie O, who injects reason and warmth into the program but also allows her co-host to show off his softer side.
In saying that, Kyle has a way of affectionately ribbing information out of Jackie O, and their banter is usually a joy to listen to.
When the pair join forces to interview someone, whether it’s a cheating tradie or an international star, they really complement each other and genuinely amuse listeners.
Sometimes Jackie O’s role gets dismissed.
Not by Kyle, who seems to have always understood her value, even making sure the pair were paid the same.
Some people wrongly assume that the fact she lets Kyle shine so much somehow means she is not an equal broadcaster, but there is real talent in giving someone the floor.
Every funny guy needs a smart woman by his side. If I were speaking in sports metaphors, I would say Kyle kicks the goal, but Jackie O is always the one who helps him receive the ball in the first place.
There have been plenty of radio duos that have flopped purely because listening to them sounded like a competition to be the funniest rather than a conversation.
The beauty of Kyle and Jackie O is that they’ve both created space for each other to entertain, even if sometimes that entertainment is quizzing tradies about their sex lives.
The absence of Jackie O has been unnerving this week, not because Kyle isn’t perfectly capable of going on without her, but because it doesn’t sound like he is having as much fun.