Kyle Sandilands prepares to fight, hires Antoinette Lattouf’s barrister

Kyle Sandilands has hired one of the barristers responsible for winning fill-in host Antoinette Lattouf’s unlawful termination case against the ABC, as the deadline for him to “remedy” his alleged breach of contract approaches on Tuesday.

The radio presenter has hired Philip Boncardo, as well as Scott Robertson, SC, the lawyer who examined former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian at the Independent Commission Against Corruption in 2020.

Sandilands has assembled his legal team after he was suspended by his employer, ARN, last week, after allegedly engaging in “serious misconduct” by berating his co-host, Jackie “O” Henderson, during their February 20 show to the point where she refused to go back on air.

A spokesperson for Sandilands confirmed the appointments, which were first reported by Lattouf’s site Ette Media.

Berejiklian was found to have engaged in corrupt conduct by ICAC and failed to overturn that finding when she challenged it through the courts. Lattouf, who was ousted from her ABC radio contract after a pressure campaign over her remarks on the Israel-Gaza war, received $70,000 in compensation after a judge found the ABC had unlawfully terminated her employment.

If ARN opts to terminate Sandilands’ contract next week, it could have a legal fight on its hands on two fronts. The Australian Financial Review reported that Henderson has threatened the company with an unlawful termination claim after her contract was torn up last week.

A representative for Henderson did not respond to a request for comment.

ARN is standing by its initial statement published to the ASX last Tuesday evening, which stated that it had terminated Henderson’s contract, which still had nine years left to run, after she told the company she could no longer work with Sandilands on their joint show.

That message was delivered formally to the company by Henderson’s lawyers and management representatives, said a source with direct knowledge of the matter, speaking anonymously due to the legal sensitivities relating to the case.

“The decision wasn’t made on a whim,” the person said.

As previously reported, to “remedy” the alleged act of serious misconduct, Sandilands would have to convince Henderson to return to The Kyle & Jackie O Show at radio station KIIS FM with him again. The pair had enjoyed a 10-year, $200 million deal lasting until the end of 2034.

A source close to Sandilands, speaking on condition of anonymity because the matter is legally sensitive, previously told this masthead that pair want to put the feud behind them and are back in contact.

“Both see [the removal of the show from air] it as it is: ARN jumping at the opportunity to try and save money,” the source claimed.