Daily Mail
· collected 2026-09-16 · by Polly Taylor, Rob Mcknight, Paul Shapiro, Jonica Bray, Nicholas Comino
By POLLY TAYLOR - DEPUTY SUBSCRIPTIONS EDITOR and ROB MCKNIGHT FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA and PAUL SHAPIRO, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA and JONICA BRAY, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA and NICHOLAS COMINO, POLITICAL REPORTER, AUSTRALIA
Published: | Updated:
Gemma's cryptic response
Jackie 'O' Henderson has been very public about her sobriety since revealing her battle with alcohol and prescription drugs.
asserted
Henderson → publish → alcohol
So when rumours began circulating that the radio star may be drinking again, we went straight to her manager, Gemma O'Neill.
uncertain
we → circulate → manager
But rather than the straightforward rebuttal we expected, O'Neill skirted the question with a surprisingly cryptic response.
asserted
O'Neill → expect → response
Henderson first opened up about the extent of her addiction in 2024 during an emotional announcement live on The Kyle and Jackie O Show.
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Henderson → open → Show
Reading from the prologue of her memoir, The Whole Truth, she told listeners she had been sober for a year after battling a three-year addiction to alcohol, prescription painkiller Panadeine Forte and sleeping pill Stilnox.
asserted
she → read → alcohol
So when she was pictured holding what appeared to be a glass of wine during a night out with bestie Pip Edwards last month, it set tongues wagging.
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tongues → picture → Edwards
The pair had attended indie-pop outfit Pamela's gig at The Lansdowne Hotel in Sydney, with Edwards later sharing snaps from the night to Instagram.
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Edwards → attend → Instagram
When rumours began circulating that Jackie O may be drinking again, we went straight to her manager, Gemma O'Neill.
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we → circulate → manager
(They are pictured together)
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They → picture → ?
Jackie was pictured drinking what looks like a glass of wine last month - of course, it could have been a non-alcoholic tipple, which is why we sought clarification
Of course, the beverage could well have been a non-alcoholic tipple, which is why we asked O'Neill for clarification.
uncertain
we → picture → clarification
'As per usual, given the legal proceedings and trial about to commence, Jackie is unable to comment on any stories as per her legal team's request and I hope you can understand,' she wrote.
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she → give → request
The reply was unexpected from O'Neill, who usually snubs our requests for comment altogether.
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who → snub → comment
It also raised another question: what does Henderson's sobriety have to do with the Federal Court lawsuit against her former employer, ARN Media?
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sobriety → raise → employer
Henderson's $82million legal battle stems from the spectacular collapse of The Kyle and Jackie O Show on KIIS FM following an explosive on-air clash between Henderson and her former co-host Kyle Sandilands.
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battle → stem → Henderson
During a February broadcast, Sandilands heavily criticised Henderson, reducing her to tears on air.
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Sandilands → criticise → air
She later informed network executives she could no longer work with him.
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she → inform → him
The following month, ARN Media terminated both stars' record-breaking, 10-year, $100million contracts.
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Media → terminate → contracts
Henderson alleges she was wrongfully terminated and that ARN breached the Fair Work Act, claiming she was fired after exercising a workplace right by complaining about what she said was an unsafe and abusive working environment.
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she → allege → right
Jackie O wrote in her memoir The Whole Truth about her three-year addiction battle with alcohol, prescription painkiller Panadeine Forte and sleeping pill Stilnox
More recent court documents reveal Henderson is also claiming she suffered Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and psychological distress as a result of Sandilands's allegedly unpredictable, erratic behaviour and 'repeated bullying' over time.
Back in August, Inside Mail reported on rumours of a rift between Henderson and her longtime best friend and manager.
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Mail → write → Henderson
O'Neill denied the rumours, telling us: 'These stories are inaccurate and ridiculous.'
Karl's panic
When Karl Stefanovic lost his television and radio jobs within a matter of days, there was mounting speculation it had all been part of a plan to propel his new business venture with Keshnee Kemp into the headlines.
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it → deny → headlines
And on the surface, it made sense.
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it → make → sense
YouTube subscriber numbers jumped as the backlash from his controversial interview with British far-right activist and convicted criminal Tommy Robinson dominated the news.
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backlash → jump → news
Insiders say the loss of Stefanovic's lucrative media jobs threw their business plans into chaos and put the pair's working relationship under serious strain.
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loss → say → strain
(Karl Stefanovic pictured with wife Jasmine)
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Stefanovic → picture → Jasmine
On Monday, Karl Stefanovic's podcast business partner Keshnee Kemp launched urgent Supreme Court action to stop the former TV star from forcing her out of the venture they built together
'
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they → launch → venture
Kesh was blaming Karl for blowing it all up before they were making money and Karl was blaming her for not having the ideas about how to pivot,' a source told Inside Mail.
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source → blame → Mail
(Karl and Keshnee are pictured)
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Karl → picture → ?
But Inside Mail can reveal there was no clever strategy behind it.
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Mail → reveal → it
In fact, insiders say the loss of Stefanovic's lucrative media jobs threw their business plans into chaos and put the pair's working relationship under serious strain.
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loss → say → strain
'It was in no way a clever marketing move,' one insider said.
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insider → say → way
'Karl and Kesh weren't prepared for the podcast to become his only form of income so soon.
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podcast → become → income
'It was always supposed to be a slow burner and they'd only just realised you don't actually make much money from podcasts alone in Australia.
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you → suppose → Australia
You really have to hit that international market if you want to start making a profit.
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you → have → profit
All of a sudden Karl had gone from being paid millions in salary to relying on a new business that wasn't profitable.'
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that → go → business
The source claims it wasn't long before the pair started blaming each other.
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pair → claim → other
'Kesh was blaming Karl for blowing it all up before they were making money and Karl was blaming her for not having the ideas about how to pivot,' the insider said.
asserted
insider → blame → ideas
'That was definitely the moment he turned on Kesh.
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he → turn → Kesh
It was chaos, Karl was panicking and it got pretty ugly.'
asserted
it → panic → ?
The source claims Stefanovic now wants a very different set-up, outsourcing the marketing and monetisation rather than sharing such a large slice of the business.
uncertain
Stefanovic → claim → business
It's even named after him so yeah he doesn't want to share it anymore.
asserted
he → name → it
…and 148 more, not listed.