K&J All Clear for “hacked genitals”
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KIIS 106.5’s Kyle and Jackie O have been given the all clear by the Australian Communications and Media Authority. Going to Air in October, K&J had a ten-minute chat with a couple of members of the transgender community which ended up with a complaint.
One of the guests Walt Heyer talked about regretting his decision to become a woman, later having his transgender surgery reversed. The other person by the alias John Doe, was preparing to live as a woman.
Kyle went on to say: “Now Walt, our John Doe hasn’t hacked his genitals off yet, so what would you say to him about…
Jackie O fired back at Kyle: “Don’t phrase it like that! He hasn’t had the surgery.”
Kyle replied: “Oh sorry, what’s the appropriate phrasing?”
Jackie O repeated: “You don’t have to say hacked genitals off! I mean he hasn’t had the surgery…”
Kyle then asked: “You haven’t done anything yet, have you John? Nothing’s… cos you seem the same as always.”
John Doe responded by saying “you’ll never know”, ending with Kyle laughing.
The official complaint made said in part: “[…] made a comment about a transgender person which was both demeaning and exploitative. The comment was “John hasn’t hacked his genitals off yet”. This comment is clearly demeaning as this sort of comment relates to the sexual description of the person. It is also exploitative as it debases and abuses the person in a way that precludes [sic] to the entertainment of others.”
In formally reviewing the complaint, the ACMA Report stated amongst their findings:
“The ACMA accepts that while the comment was crudely expressed and potentially insensitive to John Doe, it was made within the context of a detailed interview that sought to explore specific transgender issues, and was directly related to the topic of discussion. John Doe did not appear to be offended by the comment and the interview continued to explore the subject matter.”
Accordingly, the licensee did not breach code 1.3(a) and 1.39(e) of the Codes. You can view the full ACMA report and transcripts here.