It appears that Kyle and Jackie O just took disrespectful to a new level.
In a bid to win back the nation’s confidence, Prime Minister Tony Abbott has appeared on two radio shows this morning, KIIS FM and Triple M. And it’s left us feeling uneasy.
Not because Tony spat out an off-the-cuff sexist comment, or even because he continuously dodged important questions, but because he was treated with fairly profound disrespect.
After being quizzed about leadership tensions, the pending executions of Bali Nine members Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran and national security, KIIS FM’s Jackie O brought up the topic of poo.
“Listen, before you go Mr Abbott did you know that Kyle pooed himself over the holidays?”
Sandilands could be heard in the background screaming, “Oh my god.”
“Look I dare say many of us get caught short occasionally. But the less said about it the better,” the Prime Minister replied.
“I was not well, I was in hospital,” Sandilands retorted.
“Well, mate I’m sure you got the best possible treatment and you’re right as rain now. Good stuff,” Abbott replied.
Kyle and Jackie O’s Twitter account revealed that Mr Abbott had said off air: “I didn’t think you could do things like that Kyle?” Neither did we.
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If you’re Australian, then it’s highly likely you’ve got your own opinions about our Prime Minister. Some good, some moderate and given the recent polling, a lot of those opinions are likely to be bad.
And after being labelled the “most incompetent leader of any industrialised democracy” by a US think tank, facing a recent leadership spill motion and getting a total grilling by Leigh Sales on 7:30 Report, some could say Mr Abbott’s popularity is declining by the hour.
But no matter how you feel about the leader of our country, the person who holds the office of Prime Minister deserves to be treated with respect. More respect than Mr Abbott was shown this morning.
As a journalist, landing an interview with the Prime Minister is a big deal. While you bring your own flair and tone to it, for sure, the gravity of the opportunity shouldn’t be dismissed.
In the past, Kyle has defended his (many) controversial comments by saying that he treats everyone the same:
“We live in a country of free speech, you’re allowed to say what you want and so am I. Whether you’re male, whether you’re female. I treat everyone equally. It doesn’t matter your gender, your race, your sexual preference, you’re equal as far as I’m concerned.”
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Sure, this might be the way Kyle (and Jackie O, to some extent) has always done things, and by all means, ask Tony Abbott the hard questions. Make him defend his decisions and his policies. Make him talk about what he can do for all Australians. But for God’s sake, don’t ask him to answer ridiculous questions about poo on national radio.
Later the PM appeared on Triple M’s The Grill with Matty Johns and, while the topic of poo thankfully wasn’t raised, he was referred to as “pal” and “Tone”.
When asked about what he should do about Malcolm Turnbull’s “open ambition”, Tony replied:
“I encourage it. Malcolm is doing his job and he is doing it very competently. Some people think the guy is Foreman Material and why wouldn’t they?”
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It’s not the first time a Prime Minister has been treated well, as though they’re not actually Prime Minister on radio. In a 2013 interview with Julia Gillard, Sandilands asked her to participate in a game called “rolls of cash” where participants stripped into their underwear and tried to pull cash out of a pool of honey. He then surprised her by offering her to take his Rolls Royce for the day.
While there’s nothing wrong with treating our PMs in a colloquial way, asking them to participate in embarrassing and demeaning games or answer ridiculous questions is a bit rich.
Top Comments
Have no time for Kyle et al ..........and agree that our PMs should be treated with respect.
Then I remember that Abbott saw nothing wrong in standing in front of large signs which labeled the then PM , Julia Gillard , a " witch" and a " bitch" .
The words " what goes around comes around" spring to mind.
Think I'll save my angst for a more worthy cause..
Kyle and Jackie O still exist? I've been living OS for 5 years. They're so outdated, as is any political media strategy which thinks it's smart to appear on these shows.