‘I never meant to hurt anyone’: Kyle Sandilands flees to LA amid epic fallout over his Virgin Mary joke – as security guard his home after death threats and the radio watchdog is flooded with calls for him to be sacked
- Sandilands has fled to Los Angeles after anger at his Virgin Mary joke
- He claims he was ‘just trying to make people laugh’ when he made the comment
- Broadcasting watchdog has had more than 150 complaints calling for his sacking
- Police were called to Sandilands’ Sydney home on Wednesday amid death threats
- Sandilands has hired a security to guard his lower north shore home
A contrite Kyle Sandilands insists he was just ‘trying to make people laugh’ and didn’t mean to cause offence with his ‘vile’ joke about the virginity of Jesus Christ’s mother.
The radio star fled Australia for Los Angeles this week for a break during the non-ratings period of the top-rating Kyle and Jackie O Show.
But he left behind a storm of outrage that saw protesters of multiple faiths gather outside KIIS FM’s Sydney studios calling for him to be sacked.
Sandilands has also been forced to hire security to guard his Sydney home – and on Wednesday police were called to his street after reports of a suspicious vehicle.
Last Thursday, the 48-year-old said on air: ‘I thought Mary was his [Jesus Christ’s] girlfriend but apparently it was the mother.’
‘And the mother lied obviously and told everyone, “Nah I got pregnant by a magical ghost”. Bulls**t.
Radio star Kyle Sandilands (pictured) has spoken about those controversial joke s he made on-air saying that Jesus Christ’s mother Mary was not a virgin
Talking outside the Los Angeles mansion where he is spending the week after fleeing Sydney, Sandilands said: ‘Sometimes I just say things as a joke and it offends some people’
‘Someone chock-a-blocked her behind the camel shed… You might believe everything that’s written down 2,000 years ago to be absolutely accurate and good on you, you’re dumb. Dumb as dog s**t.’
Sandilands, who apologised for his joke on Friday, said outside the Los Angeles mansion where he was staying on Wednesday he ‘never meant to hurt anyone’ with his ‘joke’.
‘Sometimes I just say things as a joke and it offends some people,’ he said.
‘You don’t realise until you offend someone (and) when you hear about it, (you think): “Oh f**k, that’s pretty s**t”.
‘When you’re a comedian you say funny things and you think you’re funny, but then you don’t realise you piss some people off.
‘I already put a statement out saying I never meant to p**s anyone off, I never meant to hurt anyone – I’m here to make people laugh, not to make them angry.’
His apology came as radio watchdog the Australian Communications and Media Authority confirmed it had received more than 150 complaints about Sandilands’s Virgin Mary statement.
‘You don’t realise until you offend someone (and) when you hear about it, (you think): ‘Oh f**k, that’s pretty s**t’,’ Sandilands said
The radio star escaped Sydney for LA this week, making the most of a non-ratings period for he and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson’s top rating KIIS FM breakfast radio show
Kyle was accompanied on his trip to LA by long-time personal assistant, Tegan Kynaston (pictured)
‘Under the co-regulatory system, the ACMA will refer complaints to the broadcaster in the first instance,’ a spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia.
‘If the complainant does not receive a response from the broadcaster within 60 days, or is not satisfied with the response, they may refer their complaint to the ACMA.’
Sandilands’s private security detail has kept watch of his Sydney home since the shock jock received death threats in the wake of his comments.
Up to three guards at a time have been seen standing outside the house in Sydney’s lower north shore.
Police were called to the street on Wednesday after receiving reports of a suspicious vehicle, with three marked cars pulling up next to his house shortly before midday.
Officers spoke to nearby residents but did not enter the property Sandilands shares with girlfriend Imogen Anthony.
Armed plain clothes police who arrived in an unmarked car were among those to attend the scene.
NSW Police confirmed there was no threat to Sandilands or his property.
Police were called to the street outside Sandilands’s Sydney home on Wednesday (pictured) after reports of a suspicious vehicle
Armed plain clothes police were among those to attend the area where Sandilands lives with his girlfriend Imogen Anthony
Sandilands has also been forced to hire security to guard the Sydney home where he lives with Imogen Anthony
Banding together: Christians and Muslims united in an effort to have Kyle sacked from KIIS FM
KIIS FM, where Sandilands and Henderson have worked since 2014, was inundated with dozens of protestors outside their Sydney studios on Monday morning.
Police were also called to intervene as Muslim and Christians prayed in the street and called for Sandilands to be fired over his blasphemous comments.
Listeners claimed Henderson should also be sacked, after she was seen laughing in a video of the segment posted on KIIS FM’s social media channels.
The video was later removed.
Social media has been divided over radio star’s joke, with some backing his right to freedom of speech and others calling for him to be sacked.
‘Yes, everyone is entitled to their opinion but with respect and grace! He has offended so many people and gone too far!’ one listener wrote.
‘The lady laughing with him (Henderson) should be sacked as well, but then as Jesus says: ‘Forgive them… they don’t know what they say’,’ another said.
Whoops! The public backlash against Kyle Sandilands (pictured) shows no sign of slowing down, after he shocked listeners last week with an offensive joke about the Virgin Mary
‘He has offended so many people!’ Religious Australians are demanding that KIIS FM take action against Kyle, with hundreds flocking to Facebook to angrily call for his sacking
Oh, no! Listeners called for Kyle’s co-host, Jackie ‘O’ Henderson (pictured), to be fired too after in-studio footage showed her laughing at his Virgin Mary joke
One supporter wrote: ‘This is why Kyle is worth millions of dollars. His whole career is built on a foundation of crude and insensitive remarks and jokes. I think he is hilarious. If you don’t like him or are a sensitive Sally, don’t listen to him.’
Another commented: ‘Seriously… everyone is entitled to their own opinions, so why should Kyle’s opinion be any different? Love ya, Kyle. Keep up the good work.’
In a statement to Daily Mail Australia on Monday, an Australian Radio Network (ARN) spokesperson apologised for Kyle’s comments.
‘As we said last week, we echo Kyle’s [apology] and unreservedly apologise for any offence that may have been caused,’ they said.
‘Last week when this content ran, we immediately recognised that it wasn’t appropriate for distribution and it was removed immediately.’
The Kyle and Jackie O Show is set to return to the air on Monday, September 30.
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