Kyle Sandilands’ went to war with News Corp on Wednesday after a columnist called for him to be sacked from KIIS FM for making ‘dangerous’ statements about his mental health issues on air.
Now, Kyle’s manager Bruno Bouchet has joined the battle to defend his colleague and long-time friend, sensationally branding the article as ‘damaging’ and ‘disingenuous’.
‘What [the journalist] is doing is very disingenuous to any discussions about mental health to say that if you are suffering mental health you must be taken off air, you cannot make your living, you cannot have your livelihood because you’re dealing with mental issues,’ Bruno told respected industry website TV Blackbox on Wednesday.
‘Disingenuous’: Kyle Sandilands’ manager Bruno Bouchet has blasted News Corp after a columnist called for Kyle to be sacked from KIIS FM for making ‘dangerous’ statements about his mental health issues on air. Pictured: left, Bruno, right, Kyle
News Corp had published the article after Kyle revealed his private battle with ‘sadness’ on his radio show following a 60 Minutes interview with Karl Stefanovic the night before.
He said on air on Monday that he was suffering from loneliness and depression, and he felt ‘very sad’ and ‘let down’ by those he once considered friends.
Referring to Sunday night’s 60 Minutes interview – in which he’d cried over a mystery health condition that later turned out to be a joke.
‘I’m not joking. Inside my person, I’m very sad’: Kyle said on air on Monday that he was suffering from loneliness and depression, and he felt ‘very sad’ and ‘let down’ by those he once considered friends
A day later, Kyle joked that he regretted coming out with his mental illness, because he was sick of being bombarded with messages of support from friends.
The News Corp journalist subsequently reported that Kyle’s actions had ‘trivialised mental health and pilloried those who had reached out to offer him support in the wake of his vulnerability.’
Bruno, a former radio producer, argued that the article actually did a great disservice to the way mental illness is discussed within Australian media.
‘You couldn’t have found a more supportive person than Kyle’: Bruno also revealed how the radio host helped him during a mental health crisis which saw him admitted to a psychiatric ward for eight weeks. Pictured: left, Bruno Bouchet, right, Kyle Sandilands
‘I think having a go at how someone genuinely is dealing with their own mental illness, I think that’s equally damaging,’ he said.
Bruno also spoke about his own struggles with mental health, revealing that he was once admitted to a psychiatric facility for eight weeks.
Revealing that Kyle supported him during that difficult time, Bruno said: ‘You couldn’t have found a more supportive person than Kyle, who I spoke to every day and who dealt with me in his normal approach.’
In his corner: Bruno has known Kyle for over a decade, having previously worked as a producer and on The Kyle And Jackie O Show. Pictured: left, Kyle Sandilands, right, Bruno Bouchet
Bruno has known Kyle for over a decade, having previously worked as a producer and on The Kyle And Jackie O Show.
He currently works as Kyle’s publicist, and is also the managing director of Kyle’s company, King Kyle Pty Ltd.
Fellow media personality Meshel Laurie has also publicly defended Kyle in the wake of News Corp’s controversial article.
Hitting out: On Wednesday, Meshel Laurie (pictured) told News Corp that Kyle had been unfairly attacked by the journalist for simply showing his emotional vulnerability
Branding the story as ‘grotesque’, the comedian told News Corp on Wednesday that Kyle had been unfairly attacked by the journalist for simply showing his emotional vulnerability.
‘Calling for Kyle to be sacked for speaking publicly, in his own emotionally stunted way, further stigmatises speaking out, and above all, admitting to work colleagues and employers that we’re struggling,’ she told the publication.
On Wednesday, Kyle sensationally blasted News Corp over the article, launching into a 19-minute spray in which he branded the company as ‘disgraceful’ for suggesting that he should be ‘pulled off air for a psychological assessment’.
‘You make me sick’: Kyle unleashed on News Corp after a columnist called for him to be taken off air for ‘offending people with mental health issues’
Refusing to pull any punches, Kyle accused News Corp of ‘gross misconduct’.
‘I know that News Corp owns 15 per cent of this company, and I wish that I could buy your 15 per cent back, because working for you makes me sick,’ he said.
‘You are a disgraceful company and you know that people’s health, mental health and life is at stake and you just decided to run your little scandalous articles anyway.
‘It’s just a gross misconduct of journalistic privilege.’
‘It’s just a gross misconduct of journalistic privilege’: Refusing to pull any punches, Kyle accused News Corp of ‘gross misconduct’