Radio shock jock Kyle Sandilands breached decency rules when he made offensive comments about gay men and the mpox virus, Australia's communications regulator has found.
In a segment of the Kyle and Jackie O program broadcast in August 2022, the controversial Sydney media personality "stereotyped gay men as irresponsible in regard to their sexual health", the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) ruled.
It said Sandilands painted them as prime carriers of a virus that presented a danger to the community and, as a result, not deserving of sympathy or compassion.
The 2022 outbreak of the virus formerly known as monkeypox, which caused more than 140 confirmed cases, was declared a communicable disease incident of national significance by the chief medical officer.
In a statement released on Thursday alongside the findings of an investigation into the incident, ACMA chair Nerida O’Loughlin said the comments were derisive and insulting and breached standards of decency expected by the public.
"Although there was a basis at the time for a public discussion about mpox that involved reference to gay sexuality, the segment went beyond any acceptable standards,” she said.
“Broadcasters have a responsibility to maintain appropriate levels of decency, and in this case the comments by Mr Sandilands were overly disparaging and insulting.”
In the segment, Sandilands described the virus as "the big gay disease" and told the station's newsreader, who is gay, he would not allow him around his son for fear of him transmitting mpox.
In a submission to the investigation, broadcaster KIIS FM argued the segment was intended to bring about awareness to the community of the public health risk of mpox, but conceded it contained "some unfavourable descriptions of those susceptible to the virus, being homosexual males".
A separate ACMA investigation found Sandilands also breached decency rules in a September 2021 segment in which he disparaged the Paralympic Games.
The broadcaster was ordered to deliver sensitivity training to Sandilands and report its progress every six months for two years.
The only new sanctions taken out by the watchdog for the most recent breach is to incorporate the findings of the investigation into the existing training.
Despite Sandilands being a serial offender, an ACMA spokesperson says it has no power to suspend him as it only regulates licensed broadcasters.
"Where the ACMA finds a licensee in breach of a broadcasting industry code it can only take enforcement against the licensee," the spokesperson told AAP.
Darryl O'Donnell, chief executive of HIV advocacy group Health Equity Matters, offered to work with Sandilands to help understand the impact of stigma on sexual health.
"No one should feel stigmatised about coming forward to access sexual health testing or treatment," he said.
KIIS has been approached for comment.
