The headlines will read that Marty Sheargold was dumped live on air on the KIIS Network’s Kyle and Jackie O this morning. But after things were fixed, and the interview continued, Marty shared parts of himself he’d never opened up about while at Triple M.

Marty was there to speak about his comeback Red Card tour. If the tour name doesn’t ring a bell, Sheargold left Triple M in February 2025 off the back of comments about the Australian women’s soccer team The Matildas. Comments later deemed to breach decency rules by the ACMA. When you have transgressed seriously enough in soccer you get red carded, and sent off. He was effectively handed his own red card in 2025 by radio and many of its listeners.

He would have known, being at ARN this morning, Triple M owner SCA‘s great rival, discussion of his departure was fair game, pun intended.

But, just as Marty was winding up, music kicked in instead, then ads. Several minutes later Kyle, Jackie and Marty were back, declaring the pressing of the dump button, which happens to save radio shows when someone drops a naughty word or perhaps derogatory language ala The Matildas, ‘an accident’.

On with the show.

Sheargold said:

“I went through a real mess of a thing.

I didn’t talk about it at the time, because I knew no-one would listen. And that’s the world we move in now. You can’t comment about that sort of stuff straight away. Everyone’s got a head of steam. No-one wants to listen.

There was some stuff in my private life happening at that time too which was really disastrous. So I didn’t get to put any context around what was happening for me personally.

Dad had just recently died the week before. So I had done the eulogy at his funeral on the Friday and then I was on air on the Monday and this Matildas thing exploded.

But you can’t say that at the time, because it looks like you’re playing the ‘his dad’s died’ card.

I shouldn’t have been at work is really the bottom line.”

He went on to add that his head was so removed from his work responsibilities that, despite the show being pre-recorded, he didn’t reflect on his words at all:

“You know when you leave a pre-record … and sometimes you home and think ‘geez, I might give them a ring and get them to pull that out’? I wasn’t even thinking like that, because I was so sidelined by what was going on for me.

But when you try and put context around stuff, you sound defensive and it looks as though you’re making excuses.”

What is also worth bearing in mind in that comment is that segment of audio was heard and went through many pairs of hands before actually going to air, if pre-recorded. Yet, no one stopped it.

But Sheargold had had enough anyway.

“I said to them (Triple M)  ‘Let’s go our separate ways.’ I never spoke to the CEO. The board never addressed me. It never got that far.

I’ve realised I don’t want a boss anymore. I don’t want someone drifting in and going ‘Have you thought about this?’ … or that classic ‘How do you think today went?’”

Sheargold is currently doing a video series called The Commute where he discusses an array of often NSFW topics while also driving his car. A clip is below. I find it hard to watch, not because of what Marty is saying but because he gesticulates and appears to be watching the camera more than the road. It freaks me out!

Jen Seyderhelm is a writer, editor and podcaster for Radioinfo.