Australian radio duo Jason Hawkins and Lauren Phillips defiantly returned to air at a brand new dwelling on Friday, they usually let rip on their previous employer over their brutal axing final 12 months.
The Melbourne breakfast hosts, beforehand with KIIS FM for the Australian Radio Community (ARN), discovered themselves on the chopping block in November amid Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson increasing their Sydney present on a blockbuster 10-year deal.
On the time Sandilands and Henderson signed their $100 million particular person contracts on-air, Hawkins and Phillips had been telling Melbourne listeners on the identical community they’d discovered solely hours earlier they had been getting the boot.
In February, it was introduced Nova had picked up the Jase and Lauren present for Nova 100’s new breakfast present, which can see them go head-to-head with Sandilands and Henderson as soon as the Kyle and Jackie O Present hits Melbourne airwaves quickly.
To kick off their present’s launch Friday, which incorporates 9 presenter Clint Stanaway as newsreader, Hawkins hit out at ARN for a way the station dealt with their firing, suggesting he had “good pals” who didn’t loop him into what was occurring.
“It was fairly private for me, on quite a few scales,” Hawkins stated.
“I had good pals that had been working behind the scenes in my administration. I knew individuals on the outdated radio station who had been fairly excessive up. And sure, it was fairly private.
“It was a extremely s**t feeling final 12 months. It actually was.”
Phillips added she watched as her co-host’s “spirit modified”.
“I believe as a result of we weren’t spoken to about it. It was like we had been being spoken about, however nobody spoke to us,” she stated.
“So we had been all a bit like no … Actually?”
Hawkins stated the “actual sting” from the saga was being “changed by a present networking from Sydney.”
“Melbourne deserves higher,” he stated. “It was the way it was dealt with. And never only for us, however everybody that labored on the present.”
It comes after Sandilands’ extraordinary rant forward of Jase and Lauren’s Nova debut, during which he stated the pair’s yet-to-air present was the “sh***est in Melbourne”.
“There may be a variety of chat down in Melbourne (about) the breakfast present that we’re changing (on KIIS Melbourne), Jase and Lauren, fairly an excellent present, but it surely solely ever rated fifth or, I believe, fourth, so it was not making any cash,” Sandilands stated on-air Thursday.
“So what did Nova do? Nova fired their breakfast present which was the worst score present in Melbourne and purchased the fourth worst present in Melbourne and Jase and Lauren are going there.
“We may actually care much less, this present will dominate regardless.”
Jase and Lauren, the truth is, had been town’s second most listened to breakfast present on the FM dial within the remaining scores survey of 2023.
Hawkins and Sandilands have had beef in latest months, with Sandilands calling Hawkins “a canine” in October. The outburst got here after Hawkins had days earlier claimed the shock jock was once a stoner.
The 2 males shared a home within the early 2000s after Hawkins made the transfer from Triple M in Brisbane to 2DayFM in Sydney, the place Sandilands introduced him over to the community to reply calls and be this system’s stunt man, “Labrat”.
On Thursday, Sandilands conceded Hawkins was nonetheless a buddy regardless of tensions.
“Don’t neglect Jase was my protégé,” he stated.
“I taught him every thing he is aware of. A whole lot of slave work was additionally a part of that protégé scheme. He needed to dwell with me and I did deal with him like a private slave.
“They put that different flop from the Weekend Immediately present, he’s going to learn their information over at Nova. So what’s his title Cl*t, Cl*t, Cl*t Stowaway?
“Effectively good luck to them. It’s the sh***est present in Melbourne and that’s the reason it bought changed (on KIIS).”
Sandilands and Henderson are set to announce the airdate for his or her Melbourne launch on March 12.
