‘We became the act’: Marty Sheargold on how he and Kyle Sandilands became victims of their on-air personas

Former Triple M broadcaster Marty Sheargold says he and Kyle Sandilands became victims of the on-air personas they spent decades building, as he reflected on his exit from Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) and the pressures of commercial radio.

Speaking on the Game Changers podcast with Craig Bruce, Sheargold said that much of what high-profile radio hosts present on air is performance, not a direct reflection of who they are off-mic.

Sheargold suggested audiences often misunderstand the nature of commercial radio, particularly when personalities push boundaries in pursuit of cut-through.

“I think what gets forgotten in this is that, and I think Kyle [Sandilands] is going through this a bit at the moment as well with the drama that he's living through. A lot of what we do is an act, and people find that really hard to believe,” he said.

“They go, oh, well, it's a heightened version of you. And you start shaping it, and two decades later, it ends up here. And for many, many years, you're patted on the back and thanked [for] raising revenue and [you do] all your client lunches and tick all those foul, c***-sucking boxes that we all tick”

The comments position Sheargold’s experience alongside Sandilands, who is currently embroiled in a legal battle with his former employer ARN, after they terminated his $200m contract for failing to remedy "an act of serious misconduct" in breach of his terms of employment.

He's fighting the claims.

Kyle Sandilands

Exit from SCA

Sheargold and SCA mutually agreed to part ways in February 2025 following a backlash over controversial on-air remarks about the Matildas and women’s sport.

The fallout escalated beyond audience reaction, with the Australian Communications and Media Authority later finding the comments breached the Commercial Radio Code of Practice.

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