Mary Madigan knew joining Kyle Sandilands on-air would attract attention.
After all, Sandilands has spent decades building a reputation as one of Australian radio’s most outspoken and divisive personalities. But just weeks into her new role on Kyle Sandilands Live, Madigan says the reaction she encountered was far more personal than she had expected.
And while much of the criticism centred on her decision to work with Kyle, her account has also offered an interesting glimpse into what their conversations are actually like once the microphones are on.
A reaction Mary didn’t expect
Madigan said she had fully anticipated people having opinions about her new job.
“When I took a job working for Kyle Sandilands, I expected feedback,” she wrote.
What surprised her was being told that the career move somehow meant she could no longer consider herself a feminist.
One person even contacted her directly on Instagram to question her beliefs, while Madigan said similar comments also came from several people she knew personally.
She admitted the reaction hurt.
Having spent much of her career trying to bring feminist issues into mainstream conversations, Madigan said she found it particularly frustrating to have those beliefs questioned because of one professional decision.
What actually happens when they disagree
But Madigan’s account also revealed more about her working dynamic with Sandilands.
She explained that she spends four hours a day, five days a week on-air with him and regularly brings a progressive female perspective into their discussions.
That has included challenging conversations about relationships, gender expectations and controversial public figures.
Rather than suggesting those disagreements are avoided, Madigan said Kyle has been willing to engage with them.
“He is open to these conversations,” she wrote.
She also described him as someone who is prepared to hear her out, even when they approach an issue from different perspectives.
According to Madigan, the pair can often “laugh our way through tough topics”, while she also suggested some of Sandilands’ views may be more progressive than his public reputation leads people to assume.
A different side of Kyle
For Madigan, that ability to disagree appears to be an important part of why she does not see the job as conflicting with her own beliefs.
She argued that feminism does not require people to only work or speak with those who share the same views.
Instead, she sees her place on the program as an opportunity to bring another perspective into conversations with a huge audience.
“I don’t think working for him is betraying my feminist beliefs; it’s actually given me a platform,” she said.
Madigan also rejected the suggestion that her relationship with one male colleague should be used to define her broader identity or values.
While Sandilands’ controversial reputation remains part of the discussion surrounding her new role, Madigan’s experience paints a more complicated picture of their working relationship — one built not on constant agreement, but on being willing to have conversations that can sometimes be difficult.
And just weeks into the job, she appears determined not to let outside criticism decide what her decision means.
