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Kyle Sandilands - Source: TV2 -
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Kyle Sandilands is facing career uncertainty again after he was
suspended from his Australian radio show for controversial remarks
offending Holocaust survivors and their families.
Commenting on comedian Magda Szubanski's recent 25kg weight loss on
his 2DAYFM breakfast show, Sandilands said she would only be skinny
if she was put in a concentration camp .
Sandilands apologised for the comments in a statement on Tuesday,
and again on the Sydney radio station on Wednesday morning, but
station general manager Adam Lang later issued a statement saying
Sandilands was being taken off air pending further
discussions.
"2Day FM believes the comments made by Kyle were unacceptable and
sincerely apologises and regrets any offence they caused," the
statement said.
An Austereo spokeswoman said his co-host Jackie O would be on air
with Australian Idol host Andrew G and pop star Dannii Minogue on
Thursday.
But she would not comment on how long Sandilands would be off
air.
The latest furore comes about a month after Sandilands and Jackie O
were off air for two weeks following a segment in which a
14-year-old girl was strapped to a lie detector
and asked on air about her sexual history.
They resumed on August 18, but Sandilands lost his Australian Idol
hosting job over the incident.
Sandilands' manager did not return calls, while a spokeswoman for
Szubanski, whose father was a Polish freedom fighter who hunted
down Nazis, said she didn't want to get involved any further.
Szubanski said on Wednesday the comments were abhorrent but
couldn't give two hoots what he said about her.
The comments have sparked outrage from Jewish leaders who have
called for his sacking, while soul singer Renee Geyer, whose
grandparents died in a concentration camp, told Melbourne radio it
was unthinkable.
"I find it very offensive and hurtful, how can he be so blase and
light about something like that?" she said on 3AW, fighting back
tears.
"She (my mother) was in concentration camps for about two years,
she lost her family and yes, everybody was very skinny, they were
like skeletons."
A Jewish news service extended an invitation to Sandilands to tour
the Jewish Museum with the president of the Holocaust Survivors
association.
Editor of JWire Henry Benjamin told AAP that 2DAYFM had informed
him they would put it on the table during discussions with
Sandilands.
