Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O have come out swinging after their producer ‘Intern’ Pete Deppeler became the centre of a media storm over the long weekend when he crashed Steve Smith’s tearful press conference.
Speaking on their KIIS 106.5 breakfast show on Tuesday, Kyle accused cricket fans and authorities of overreacting to Pete’s observation that the ball-tampering scandal wasn’t as bad as Davina Rankin and Dean Wells’ ‘affair’ on Married At First Sight.
Kyle, 46, raged: ‘It’s a cricket game at the end of the day. He got death threats, the kid. People threatened Intern Pete with death and they weren’t mucking around. These were loons.’
‘He could have killed himself over the weekend… it’s a f**king game!’ Kyle and Jackie O have come out swinging after their producer ‘Intern’ Pete Deppeler became the centre of a media storm over the long weekend when he crashed Steve Smith’s tearful press conference
Jackie, who confessed she hadn’t watched footage of Intern Pete at the press conference on Thursday night, added: ‘Pete is the kind of person who has the best of intentions, who wouldn’t hurt a fly. He just wants to please people and I feel for him.’
While the Sydney radio presenters insisted they did not tell Pete to go to Steve Smith’s press conference and ask the question about MAFS, Kyle said defiantly: ‘We will support him.’
He continued: ‘We’ll decide whether he stays or goes – certainly not Cricket Australia, who have decided not to advertise more.
‘My heart bleeds! What do we plays, two ads? I don’t give a s**t.’
Backlash: Speaking on their KIIS 106.5 breakfast show on Tuesday, Kyle accused cricket fans and authorities of overreacting to Pete’s (pictured) observation that the ball-tampering scandal wasn’t as bad as Davina Rankin and Dean Wells’ ‘affair’ on Married At First Sight
Support: Jackie, who confessed she hadn’t watched footage of Intern Pete at the tearful press conference on Thursday night, said: ‘Pete is the kind of person who has the best of intentions, who wouldn’t hurt a fly. He just wants to please people and I feel for him.’
Later in the show, Kyle’s expressed further anger about the public backlash against Intern Pete, claiming that obsessed sports fans had shown their true colours.
‘They want his mother dead. What sort of people are these people?’ he asked. ‘It’s a f**king game – I don’t mind a bit of beeping.
‘This kid could have killed himself over the weekend because of all the hell he’s been put through.
Scandal: On Thursday night, Intern Pete crashed Steve’s emotional public apology (pictured) to argue that the disgraced sportsman wasn’t as bad as reality TV ‘villains’ Davina Rankin and Dean Wells on Married At First Sight
‘Imagine if he’d taken his own life because some flog somewhere who’s so obsessed with cricket wanted him dead?’
He was also furious Cricket Australia had pulled their advertisements from The Kyle and Jackie O Show’s parent company Australian Radio Network (ARN), emphasising how they were one of the few media outlets to support the players amid the scandal.
‘I think really every media outlet in the world was s**t-canning the cricket. And guess which media outlet was not s**t-canning the cricket?’ he added pointedly.
On Thursday night, Intern Pete crashed Steve’s emotional public apology to argue that the disgraced sportsman wasn’t as bad as reality TV ‘villains’ Davina Rankin and Dean Wells on Married At First Sight.
As a grave-faced Steve fronted the media in Sydney after being sent home from South Africa, the embattled cricketer apologised repeatedly for his role in the ball-tampering scandal.
Answering questions from reporters, Intern Pete interjected with a bizarre observation about the cricketing story.
‘Steve, I am going to take a different tack on this one – Intern Pete from the Kyle and Jackie O show here,’ Intern Pete began.
‘I want to let you know the perspective from non sports committing Australians, to see you upset tonight is very sad.
‘We asked our listeners, as I said we are not a sports show, we asked our listeners what we thought about this and we have … mate I’ve got to tell you hold your head up a little bit high for what you have done.
‘Because what has actually been worse is what Dean and Davina did on Married At First Sight.’
As Steve appeared somewhat affronted by the strange comment, Intern Pete was cut off by event organisers.
The Kyle and Jackie O Show producer was making reference to Married At First Sight stars Dean Wells and Davina Rankin’s decision to ‘cheat’ on their TV spouses during an episode of the hit reality TV series.
Viewers were quick to react to Intern Pete’s interjection at the press conference, questioning whether it was appropriate for him to make a joke at the sombre event.
A spokesperson for Australian Radio Network, the parent company who owns KIIS FM, said after the incident that Intern Pete had ‘genuinely felt for Steve’ and ‘tried to inject some warmth to what was a difficult situation’.
‘The ball tampering incident has evoked an extraordinary reaction from a broad range of Australian audiences, both those who follow cricket, and those who don’t know anything about the sport,’ the spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday.
‘Obviously the majority of those asking questions at the airport tonight were sports journalists, unlike Intern Pete, so Pete’s question was framed for those who don’t follow cricket.’