Radio presenter Kyle Sandilands spoke candidly this morning about his mental health struggles, saying he’s ‘very, very sad’, but that Sunday night’s 60 Minutes interview wasn’t ‘the right forum’ to discuss it.
Sandilands and Kiis FM co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson spoke with Nine’s Karl Stefanovic on 60 Minutes with the promo running before the episode promising the radio host would reveal a ‘secret health battle’ which was then unveiled to be a joke.
During the 60 Minutes episode, Sandilands became very emotional and hinted he was severely unwell, which was then used heavily in the promotion of the episode. When viewers watched the entire interview though, the reveal was that Sandilands was joking.
Speaking on their breakfast radio program this morning, Henderson and Sandilands said they were unaware 60 Minutes would promote the episode so heavily on the gag.
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“I didn’t think they’d promo it like that, as if I was going to die,” Sandilands said.
Henderson, who had been appearing on the episode alongside Sandilands to celebrate 20 years of their radio hosting partnership, said she had asked producers following the filming if they would be using the gag.
Sandilands caught Henderson by surprise this morning when the duo spoke about the episode, saying the reason he was able to draw on the emotions he used while filming the gag was because he is struggling with mental health issues.
“The honest truth of why I was about to cry with all that breakdown stuff is because inside, I’m very, very sad. But it wasn’t the right forum to bring it up,” Sandilands told his co-host this morning.
“When you said, ‘I’m very worried about him’. A wave of emotion went through me, and I realised I was losing control, so I had to make something up as a joke.”
“(People) look at me and think, ‘yeah, you’re a fat bastard, you should be sad’,” he said. Henderson suggested he hadn’t ‘been having a great time lately’ and Sandilands responded with “not for a long time”.
The pair discussed Sandiland’s sick days and why he felt ‘so alone’ during the segment. Henderson assured Sandilands she was always checking in and would support him through his battles.
The segment did also touch on Sandiland’s health, with the host saying he has high blood pressure which resulted in him ‘looking like a beetroot’ during filming.
Sandilands and Henderson also took calls during the program from viewers who were angry over the 60 Minutes episode. The TV program also drew ire on social media for its promotion of the interview.
If you or someone you care about needs support, please contact:
Lifeline 13 11 14
Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467
MensLine Australia 1300 78 99 78
Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636