Surprise, Surprise: Kyle Sandilands Defended The White ‘Australian Idol’ Judging Panel
Controversial radio host Kyle Sandilands has defended Australian Idol after the upcoming reboot was called out for casting an all-white judging panel.
ICYMI, Australian Idol is returning in 2023 and this week, the show announced who will be part of the judging panel and who will be hosting the Channel 7 revival.
The judging panel includes ‘All About That Bass Singer’ Meghan Trainor, ARIA award-winner Amy Shark, US singer and actor Harry Connick Jr. and radio shock jock, Kyle Sandilands. Ricki-Lee will be joined by Scott Tweedie as our new hosts, and that’s what we know so far.
View this post on Instagram
With the announcement, fans noticed that the casting was lacking diversity, especially on the judging panel, with Ricki-Lee (who is a host) cast as the only person of colour, as Ricki-Lee is of Maori descent.
And to be fair, we felt like there could have been better choices made with the judging panel overall. No tea, no shade.
Former Young Divas member and Season 3 Australian Idol runner-up, Emily Williams, has called out the show for its whitewashed judges, telling the Daily Mail, “‘I was disappointed. Everybody is saying that it’s whitewashed. Absolutely, I agree. Does it look that way? Unfortunately, it does.”
Emily is Fiji-Samoan and was born in New Zealand. Fans tend to agree with Emily’s view and have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts on the judging panel.
And where is the diversity? The OG Australian Idol had at the heart of its panel Marcia Hines. This one has… a foul shockjock with a history of racism, misogyny and homophobia? Yucky.
— Mark Kearney (@mnkearney) September 27, 2022
why are they all white?
— Maggie Munn (they/them) (@MaggieMunn) September 27, 2022
This is just embarrassing, Australia really has an issue with diversity. And a ridiculous issue with ageism against talent. As a singer you can either sing or you can’t , age isn’t a factor. Do better @AustralianIdol
— Jo Cooper (@jocoopermusic) September 28, 2022
Not sure why anyone is surprised about the Australian Idol judging panel – the other talent shows on our screens are just as bad. If they want diversity they always just have Mel B on.
— Saman Shad (@muminprogress) September 28, 2022
Emily also called out the reality show for not casting anyone from the queer community, saying “I thought at least one person would be gay or non-binary.”
Kyle has since come out swinging against the show’s critics, defending Australian Idol on his brekky radio show Kyle and Jackie O. The returning Australian Idol judge claimed that he had spoken to Black artists — including 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg — during the casting process but said they couldn’t join due to scheduling conflicts. He also said that he had “his fingers in many pies” while looking for the reboot’s judging panel.
He then went on to address Emily’s comments. “You can’t say, ‘one judge has got to be a non-binary Black person’. That’s not how the real world works. And it shouldn’t.”
Kyle also said the role should be given to those who are “worthy,” like he’s welding Thor’s hammer. “It should be whoever is worthy of doing it. [Whether they’re] gay, straight, black, white, non-binary, whatever, that’s not taken into consideration — and it shouldn’t be.”
View this post on Instagram
The Australian Idol judge also claimed that people calling out the lack of diversity are ummm… the problem. “That’s how we went wrong in the first place. That’s how hate started,” he said. “Hate will continue to grow if we have to go ‘we have to have the gay’…that’s all part of hate.”
LOL, like… what.
We truly don’t know how to respond to that, but we do know that both Australia and New Zealand have so many BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ talents that could’ve and should’ve been a part of the judging panel. Given that Marcia Hines — a Jamaican-born Australian singer — was a judge on the OG show, it seems like they could’ve tried more to be inclusive.
Off the top of our heads, we can think of Casey Donovan, Guy Sebastian, Paulini, Jessica Mauboy, Isaiah Firebrace, Sheldon Riley, and Stan Walker who would have all slayed it on the 2023 judging panel.
Williams also reflected that having Marcia as a judge was comforting when she was competing on Australian Idol. “If this person is here, and she looks like me, that means I can do it. If she’s sitting there encouraging me, there’s a chance that I can do it,” Emily said.
Not much more info has been shared about Australian Idol, but Kyle’s comments are defs a turn-off.
–
Australian Idol will premiere on Channel 7 and 7Plus in 2023.