Australian DJs apologize for royal hoax call
SYDNEY (AP) - They expected a hang-up and a few laughs. Instead, the Australian DJs behind a hoax phone call to the London hospital where the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge was being treated were deeply apologetic Monday as they described how their joke ended up going too far.
The phone call - in which they impersonated Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles - went through, and their station broadcast and even trumpeted the confidential information received. Whatever pride there had been over the hoax was obliterated by worldwide public outrage after Friday's death, still unexplained, of Jacintha Saldanha, the first nurse they talked to.
"There's not a minute that goes by that we don't think about her family and what they must be going through," 2DayFM radio host Mel Greig told Australia's "A Current Affair," her voice shaking. "And the thought that we may have played a part in that is gut-wrenching."
She and co-host Michael Christian spoke publicly about the prank for the first time in the televised interview. Another interview on rival show "Today Tonight" also aired Monday.
The hoax has sparked broad outrage, with the hosts receiving death threats and demands they be fired.
The radio station's owner said Greig and Christian were receiving psychological counseling to deal with the tragedy.
A British lawmaker said he wished that much was being done for Saldanha's grieving family.
"They are devastated by what has happened," said Labour legislator Keith Vaz, who has visited Saldanha's husband and two children at their home in Bristol, southwest England.
"They are shocked and they are bewildered," Vaz told the BBC. "More support, in my view, needs to be given."
Both DJs apologized for the hoax and cried when asked about the moment they learned that the Saldanha was dead. But neither described having reservations before the hoax tape was broadcast; they said higher-ups at the station had made the decision to air it.
"We didn't have that discussion," Greig said.
Southern Cross Austereo, the parent company of 2DayFM, released a statement Monday saying that Greig and Christian's show had been terminated and there would be a company-wide suspension of prank calls. The DJs themselves remain suspended.
Saldanha, 46, had transferred their call last week to a fellow nurse caring for the duchess, who was being treated for acute morning sickness at King Edward VII Hospital in London. That nurse said the former Kate Middleton "hasn't had any retching with me and she's been sleeping on and off."
Three days later, Saldanha was found dead at the hospital's nurses' accommodation. Police have not disclosed the cause of death but many assumed it was related to the stress from the call.
The DJs said when the idea for the call came up in a team meeting, no one expected that they would actually be put through to the duchess' ward.
"We just assumed we'd get cut off at every single point and that'd be it," Christian said.
"The joke 100 percent was on us," he said. "The idea was never, 'Let's call up and get through to Kate,' or 'Let's speak to a nurse.' The joke was our accents are horrible, they don't sound anything like who they're intended to be."
The decision to air the prerecorded call was made by executives higher up the chain, the DJs said.
Southern Cross Austereo CEO Rhys Holleran has called Saldanha's death a tragedy but defended the prank as a standard part of radio culture. He has also insisted the station had not broken any laws. He told Fairfax Radio on Monday that his station had tried at least five times to contact the London hospital to discuss the prank before it aired, but never succeeded.
When asked why the company made the attempts, Holleran replied "because we did want to speak with them about it." When pressed as to whether this meant the station had reservations about the prank, Holleran said only, "I think that that's a process that we follow and we have checks and balances on all those things."
The King Edward VII Hospital denied that its management had been contacted by the radio station.
"Following the hoax call, the radio station did not speak to anyone in the hospital's senior management or anyone at the company that handles our media inquiries," the hospital said in a statement.
It also announced a memorial fund to help support the nurse's family, with the hospital making the first donation.
Vaz, however, called on the hospital to do more. He urged it to hold an inquiry into Saldanha's death and said no one from King Edward VII had visited her family.
"I'm a little surprised that nobody has made the journey to Bristol to sit with them and to offer them the counseling that I think that they need," he said.
Saldanha had two children. Her husband, Ben Barboza, expressed his sadness on his Facebook page with a short note "Obituary Jacintha."
"I am devastated with the tragic loss of my beloved wife Jacintha in tragic circumstances," he wrote. He said she will be laid to rest in Shirva, India.
Meanwhile, there were indications that the Duchess of Cambridge was still struggling with acute morning sickness over the weekend with her husband, Prince William, cancelling a Sunday night engagement.
Palace officials said no final decision had been made on whether Kate would attend Wednesday's British premiere of "The Hobbit," where she and William are scheduled to be the guests of honor.
The phone call - in which they impersonated Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles - went through, and their station broadcast and even trumpeted the confidential information received. Whatever pride there had been over the hoax was obliterated by worldwide public outrage after Friday's death, still unexplained, of Jacintha Saldanha, the first nurse they talked to.
"There's not a minute that goes by that we don't think about her family and what they must be going through," 2DayFM radio host Mel Greig told Australia's "A Current Affair," her voice shaking. "And the thought that we may have played a part in that is gut-wrenching."
She and co-host Michael Christian spoke publicly about the prank for the first time in the televised interview. Another interview on rival show "Today Tonight" also aired Monday.
The hoax has sparked broad outrage, with the hosts receiving death threats and demands they be fired.
The radio station's owner said Greig and Christian were receiving psychological counseling to deal with the tragedy.
A British lawmaker said he wished that much was being done for Saldanha's grieving family.
"They are devastated by what has happened," said Labour legislator Keith Vaz, who has visited Saldanha's husband and two children at their home in Bristol, southwest England.
"They are shocked and they are bewildered," Vaz told the BBC. "More support, in my view, needs to be given."
Both DJs apologized for the hoax and cried when asked about the moment they learned that the Saldanha was dead. But neither described having reservations before the hoax tape was broadcast; they said higher-ups at the station had made the decision to air it.
"We didn't have that discussion," Greig said.
Southern Cross Austereo, the parent company of 2DayFM, released a statement Monday saying that Greig and Christian's show had been terminated and there would be a company-wide suspension of prank calls. The DJs themselves remain suspended.
Saldanha, 46, had transferred their call last week to a fellow nurse caring for the duchess, who was being treated for acute morning sickness at King Edward VII Hospital in London. That nurse said the former Kate Middleton "hasn't had any retching with me and she's been sleeping on and off."
Three days later, Saldanha was found dead at the hospital's nurses' accommodation. Police have not disclosed the cause of death but many assumed it was related to the stress from the call.
The DJs said when the idea for the call came up in a team meeting, no one expected that they would actually be put through to the duchess' ward.
"We just assumed we'd get cut off at every single point and that'd be it," Christian said.
"The joke 100 percent was on us," he said. "The idea was never, 'Let's call up and get through to Kate,' or 'Let's speak to a nurse.' The joke was our accents are horrible, they don't sound anything like who they're intended to be."
The decision to air the prerecorded call was made by executives higher up the chain, the DJs said.
Southern Cross Austereo CEO Rhys Holleran has called Saldanha's death a tragedy but defended the prank as a standard part of radio culture. He has also insisted the station had not broken any laws. He told Fairfax Radio on Monday that his station had tried at least five times to contact the London hospital to discuss the prank before it aired, but never succeeded.
When asked why the company made the attempts, Holleran replied "because we did want to speak with them about it." When pressed as to whether this meant the station had reservations about the prank, Holleran said only, "I think that that's a process that we follow and we have checks and balances on all those things."
The King Edward VII Hospital denied that its management had been contacted by the radio station.
"Following the hoax call, the radio station did not speak to anyone in the hospital's senior management or anyone at the company that handles our media inquiries," the hospital said in a statement.
It also announced a memorial fund to help support the nurse's family, with the hospital making the first donation.
Vaz, however, called on the hospital to do more. He urged it to hold an inquiry into Saldanha's death and said no one from King Edward VII had visited her family.
"I'm a little surprised that nobody has made the journey to Bristol to sit with them and to offer them the counseling that I think that they need," he said.
Saldanha had two children. Her husband, Ben Barboza, expressed his sadness on his Facebook page with a short note "Obituary Jacintha."
"I am devastated with the tragic loss of my beloved wife Jacintha in tragic circumstances," he wrote. He said she will be laid to rest in Shirva, India.
Meanwhile, there were indications that the Duchess of Cambridge was still struggling with acute morning sickness over the weekend with her husband, Prince William, cancelling a Sunday night engagement.
Palace officials said no final decision had been made on whether Kate would attend Wednesday's British premiere of "The Hobbit," where she and William are scheduled to be the guests of honor.
On the news tonight they tearfully stated that no one ever expected anything so tragic to happen...
Yeah, the Zimmerman defense...that should work.
And to read that "there would be a company-wide suspension of prank calls"...what ever happened to the good old radio program where they just play great music?
I am glad these DJ's are human and feel the impact of the joke, but I do not want them to blame themselves overly much. Â There is much to be sad about, and much to apologize for, but the end result would have been similar a day later or a week later - this hurting nurse had problems that weren't being entirely recognized. Â We assume she committed suicide, but stress might have caused any number of other causes of death.
This teach some people not to stick their nose into someone's business,why concern ????
Prank calls are standard radio fare. No way could these DJs have known someone they were going to talk to was that unstable. It's a tragedy but to lay the blame at the feet of the DJs is asinine and just too convenient. Even their employer is trying to throw them under the bus. Disgraceful and cowardly. The royal family had complained not one bit so the nurse's reaction says something about her mental health. Of course, armed with 20/20 hindsight now everyone's a friggin' expert about everything. Blech.
 @Tattooed_Angel @PilonidalCystÂ
Don't mess with strangers. Don't "-" with people. Be kind to others. You never know what all someone has on their plate. Life is tough enough without people going out of their way to mess with others just for their own grins.  Â
@PilonidalCyst Maybe this tragedy will end the prank calls.  If radio stations continue this asinine practice they should be required to contact all parties involved and get written consent to air, or be liable for any consequences their "joke" causes. Â
An example needs to be made. I think the station's leadership should be under scrutiny as well. They gave the go ahead on this.
I think it is sad that the nurse felt her only option was suicide. I feel bad for the radio hosts that are being lynched because of this. What was supposed to be a harmless prank was no reason to kill yourself over. Obviously the nurse had other issues.
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And yes, I have heard the prank and it was indeed harmless!
@Tattooed_Angel I have to disagree with you. Having your private health information broadcast all over the world is not harmless. It is intrusive and embarrassing, at least. How harmless can it be when someone is dead because of it, no matter what the nurses issues were. They behaved like children, laughing and giggling at someone elses discomfort. Well, now they will have to live with the result of their actions, just like the rest of the human population.
I believe that they could not have known that this could cause someone's death, but they must have known that hospital staff could have lost their job or have their work record ruined. This was such a childish, intrusive act. How could they think it was alright to obtain private information under false pretenses? Now the shoe is on the other foot and their careers are on the line, all for a stupid prank.
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 @Gottadance All in the name of ratings.
@DawgFan72 I agree with you. That woman presenter is in her 30's, for crying out loud, and she is still that immature? There are actually laws against making calls like that in Australia, and the station is taking the stand that, as the call went to London rather than Australia, they are immune. We shall see.
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I know some people think it was just a harmless prank. But I have to ask, harmless from who's point of view? If it was private information about one of them, obtained in such a manner, being broadcast, would it still be funny? It wasn't harmless to a diligent nurse who felt responsible and ashamed of what had happened. It certainly wasn't harmless to her family either.