The dissolution of the Kyle & Jackie O Show may have begun as a shock, but there has been no more predictable development than Kyle Sandilands being the first to go to court on Monday and challenge the end of his $100 million contract.
Jackie “O” Henderson, though, is typically just as voluble as her co-host, and she has been all but absent from the public posturing about radio company ARN’s decision to oust the pair after she allegedly said she couldn’t work with Sandilands a second longer.
For a woman with the power to back Sandilands’ case and argue the pair are happy to work together again, or confirm ARN’s argument that things had deteriorated beyond repair, her silence could be a strategy in itself as all three parties jostle for the best financial outcome.
Sandilands’ strategy is a no-brainer. He was only just over a year into his $100 million contract, so he is fighting ARN’s decision to terminate it.
His public argument has already been along the lines of: “They hired a provocative caveman to say provocative things, and that’s what they got.”
Team Henderson, however, remained steadfastly quiet, despite her equally lucrative contract also being torn up.
And without any whiff from the Henderson camp, the media reporting on it are operating in an echo chamber of whispers and suppositions.
These tips range from Henderson being on the cusp of filing her own wrongful termination legal action, to her being warmly embraced by an ARN that is keen to offer her more work within the group.
Meanwhile, the centrepiece of ARN’s defence for terminating Sandilands’ contract is said to be the letter from Henderson’s lawyers that contains her more extensive reasons for being unable to work with her former radio co-star.
Sources unable to speak publicly say this letter goes well beyond the on-air spat during which Sandilands berated her and belittled her astrology mania, which in turn prompted Henderson to stop broadcasting last month. In a statement on Monday, ARN said it disputed Sandilands’ claims and would defend the proceedings.
Surely, Henderson’s agenda must be to try to force ARN to honour her contract – or get compensation or an alternative deal close to its value. Maybe she could argue that abandoning a partnership with Sandilands represented a kind of force majeure event – perhaps framing it as a breach of workplace standards – which rendered her unable to fulfil that contract to work as a team with him, rather than a Henderson dummy spit.
The only statement that Henderson has made over the past couple of weeks emphasised that she “did not quit or resign” and was addressing the issue through her lawyers.
And strangely, Henderson did not appear to anticipate that her walking off set and refusal to work with Sandilands would have played out as it has. That sole statement from Henderson, which was released earlier this month said: “I am deeply saddened by the events of the past week and the possibility of the show ending. This has come as a shock to me…”
Whatever strategy Henderson and her legal team now employs, it will surely centre on her best financial outcome. If this involves legal action against ARN, then so be it.
If ARN can offer Henderson a sufficiently attractive alternative, then litigation could be avoided.
Either way, she appears to have the advantage of time while Sandilands’ claim plays out in public.
ARN entered into a financially profligate contract with Henderson and Sandilands a couple of years back. Since then, the return on this investment has been woeful given markets other than Sydney have not shared its enthusiasm for the duo’s particular brand of charm.
It’s not clear if ARN actively set a mouse trap to catch Henderson and Sandilands. But when Sandilands crossed the line by offending his on-air partner one too many times and when Henderson stormed off and refused to work with him, both took a nibble at the cheese.
Henderson may be the one to get away with more than a morsel.
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