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Kyle Sandilands blasted for ‘abhorrent’ comments about Paralympics
Shock jock Kyle Sandilands has been slammed for his on-air comments about the Paralympics on Wednesday morning.
After the 50-year-old repeatedly mislabeled the event as the “Special Olympics” and said it was “horrific”, there have now been calls for the radio host to be sacked.
“Have you been watching the Special Olympics?” he asked his colleagues.
“It’s horrific some of the things. I saw some poor bloke ran for the high jump and then veered right ‘cos he was blind and landed on his a** on the ground.
"And then when they were playing soccer, the blind people, I was thinking, are you joking? They’re throwing themselves on the ground like sausages to block the ball.”
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“I think, good on you. I love the spirit of the contest,” he later admitted. “But I feel that Jesus Christ, that’s a big effort.”
The Paralympics and the Special Olympics are two separate competitions recognised by the International Olympic Committee, while the former offers fewer sports and is only open to people from 10 categories of disability.
The Special Olympics World Games are also held in alternate years to the Olympics and Paralympics, with the next Summer event taking place in Berlin, Germany in 2023.
Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John has since blasted Kyle for his comments and has pushed for the KIIS host to be fired.
“Kyle’s comments are abhorrent, ignorant and ableist,” he told news.com.au.
“He has a long history of espousing hate and these comments are hurtful to disabled people. He needs to pull his head in, and apologise to our athletes and the disability community.
“There is no place for ableism in our community, and these comments are the latest example of why Kyle should be sacked from his broadcasting roles.”
Social media users have also expressed outrage at Kyle, with many calling his remarks “disgraceful” and “absolutely unforgivable”.
On-air prank went awry
Kyle’s comments occurred on the same morning that his prank on co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson backfired and she burst into tears.
Jackie had previously complained about the ‘scumbag’ in her neighbourhood who had put trash in her bins, so Kyle organised for a KIIS employee to call into the show and pretend to be one of her angry neighbours.
“I just want to ring up and say thanks for the blast on the radio,” the caller began her outburst, which lasted for a very tense two and a half minutes. “I’m pretty pissed really.”
After it was revealed to be a prank, the Masked Singer judge immediately started crying.
“I thought the whole street hated me,” she said through tears. “I don’t even know why I’m crying, must be hormones or something.
“She was being so mean, I thought oh my god, everyone hates me in the street. I don’t want that, nobody ever wants that.”
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