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Subscribe to RSSStill in shock that nurse Jacintha Saldhana took her life after being tricked by the Australian radio hosts' imitation of the Queen, the two DJs – whose radio show has been canceled – said they are 'gutted' and 'heartbroken.' NBC's Keir Simmons reports.
Updated at 6:50 p.m. ET: CANBERRA, Australia -- Two Australian radio announcers who made a prank call to a British hospital treating Prince William's pregnant wife Kate broke a three-day silence Monday to speak of their distress over the death of the nurse who took their call.
The 2DayFM Sydney-based announcers, Mel Greig and Michael Christian, said the tragedy had left them "shattered, gutted, heartbroken."
Greig and fellow presenter and prank mastermind Christian have been in hiding since nurse Jacintha Saldanha's death and the subsequent social media outrage at their prank. Saldanha's death is being treated as unexplained while an investigation takes place.
Greig told the “Today Tonight” program on Australia’s Channel 7 that her first thought when told of Saldanha's death was for her family.
Prank-call radio station suspends DJs, ads; dead nurse's family 'deeply saddened'
"Unfortunately I remember that moment very well, because I haven't stopped thinking about it since it happened," she said, amid tears and her voice quavering with emotion. "I remember my first question was 'was she a mother?'"
"I've wanted to just reach out to them and just give them a big hug and say sorry. I hope they're OK, I really do. I hope they get through this," said a black-clad Greig when asked about Saldanha's two children, left grieving her death with their father Ben Barboza.
Details of Kate's condition disclosed
Saldanha, 46, was found dead in staff accommodation near London's King Edward VII hospital on Friday, three days after putting the hoax call through to a colleague who unwittingly disclosed details of Kate's morning sickness to 2DayFM's presenters.
A recording of the call, broadcast repeatedly by the station, rapidly became an internet hit and was reprinted as a transcript in many newspapers.
But news of Saldanha's death sparked the Internet firestorm, with vitriolic comments toward the DJs on Facebook and Twitter.
Christian said his only wish was that Saldanha's grief-stricken family received proper support.
"I hope that they get the love, the support, the care that they need, you know," said Christian, who like Greig struggled to talk about the tragedy.
Radio station owner calls death of nurse who took royal prank call 'truly tragic'
In a statement, the radio station's parent company, Southern Cross Austero, said it had suspended advertising on 2Day FM until further notice, ended the two DJs’ Hot 30 program, suspended prank calls across the company, and begun a comprehensive review of relevant company policies and practices.
"The company does not consider that the broadcast of the segment has breached any relevant law, regulation or code. The company will fully cooperate with any investigations," the statement said.
'Processes in place'
Both Greig, 30, and Christian were relatively new to the station, with Greig joining in March and Christian having been in the job only a few days before the prank call after a career in regional radio.
They said the idea for the call had come from a team meeting before the show. Greig said she did not think their prank would work.
"We thought 100 people before us would've tried it. We thought it was such a silly idea and the accents were terrible and not for a second did we expect to speak to Kate, let alone have a conversation with anyone at the hospital. We wanted to be hung up on," she said.
The DJs said the protocols established by the radio station’s parent company were followed before the phone call was made.
“There are processes in place,” Christian said.
Christian drew headlines only two weeks before the royal prank call by angering fellow passengers with a harmonica-playing stunt aboard pop star Rihanna's private jet.
Complaints pour in
Southern Cross Austereo has received more than 1,000 complaints from Australians over the actions of the popular presenters.
Nurse who was duped by prank call about Duchess Kate found dead
King Edward VII hospital in London is still reeling from being seriously punked by two radio DJ's who called and spoke to Kate's nurse. Meanwhile, the two Australians DJs apologized for their hoax. NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports.
The station said it had tried to contact hospital staff five times over the recordings.
"It is absolutely true to say that we actually did attempt to contact those people on multiple occasions," said Southern Cross Austereo chief executive Rhys Holleran.
"No one could have reasonably foreseen what has happened. I can only say the prank call is not unusual around the world," he said.
John Lofthouse, chief executive of King Edward VII's Hospital, on Monday night issued a statement on the death of Saldanha, calling her "an outstanding nurse and a dearly loved colleague. " He said a memorial fund has been established in her name.
Lofthouse added:
"I know that the family have received huge support from their local community and church. We will be holding a memorial service for Jacintha later this week.
We understand that the family are distraught and need time to reflect on the assistance they require. King Edward VII's Hospital will remain here for them whenever, wherever and however they need us."
Reuters contributed to this report.
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Get off these poor kids' back NOW, you bunch of pile-on, idiot fools!!! They are AT LEAST as much a "victim" in the whole mess as anybody!!! It was a joke!!! They were having, what seemed like, innocent fun, with mal-intent being the furthest thing from their minds. You as8hole8 that want to pile on must be "god-fearin' Christians" who always seek retributuion of some kind or another. Phony, as8hole hypocrites, every last stinkin' one of you!!!!
I agree. Should we start banning pranks and jokes because some people get offended or kill themselves?
No we shouldn't but DJ's on public airwaves NEED to use common sense, Then again they are DJ's, I don't know if Common sense and DJ's go together ...
well i for one thinks if you play this kind of game with someone you take the outcome too......i really dont see the funny at all ...there's people in this world taht dont like to be embarrass by anything or anyone ..i compare this to those who thinks bullying someone is ok....this person was not as stable as they thought she was and having a joke played on her was not the thing to do ........why do it at all ......can you imagine if this person took a weapon and shot someone because of funny haha joke on her
Idiot. what if you scratched your head because it was itchy, and someone kills himself because they saw you do it? Are you to blame???? We must get rid of all simpletons like you somehow. Didn't you loose the election????
What about this one....let's say you scratch your as8 and then smelled your fingers, and some 85 year old church lady saw you do it and dropped dead from a heart attack because she found you so offensive. Did you kill her?? Wake Up, for Christ' sake!!!
Or lets say I just read a post from Timm Mccain and killed myself because I just couldn't deal with one more idiot in this world. Is Timm to blame? I don't think so because no one could link my action with Timm's post. But in this particular case, it seems the link is pretty strong, considering the timing of the nurse's death and the phone call.
It's good to know that someone is, at least, reading my brilliant insights.
They should feel "shattered, gutted and heartbroken" and they should feel that way for a long time so next time they think of some stupid stunt they remember what the unintended consequences could be. The excuse that prank calls are made all the time all over the planet is disgusting. Whoever decided they should live their lives among the lowest common denominators? Who actually likes living at the bottom of the mental food chain? These do not appear to be poor uneducated people living in a subsistence country. They are both about 30 years old - the unending party time is over. Now it is time to make something meaningful out of your lives. Appealing to the "Honey Boo Boo" and Lindsay Lohan groupee crowd is about as far from meaningful as one can get.
You sound like the 85 year old lady I referred to above. Move on dear. your life is over....that is if you ever really lived it. Praise Jesus!!!!
Timm - you are welcome to scratch your head, your ass or anything else on your body you want to scratch and sniff. The only person you are embarrassing is yourself and even if I saw it, I wouldn't broadcast it to the world in an effort to humiliate you on a global scale. That's the difference between this event and your ridiculous comparisons.
This womans death had NOTHING to do with this prank call. She was gonna do it anyway. These DJ's were doing what DJ's all over the world do. They were having fun with their audience, period. They thought they would be hung up on. They didn't think they would actually get that far. The woman who killed herself already had issues. You don't kill yourself over a prank call!!! Get real.
YOU don't kill yourself over a prank call. Neither would I. Depending on your culture, mental state and profession, you might be so traumatized over a prank call being broadcast all over the world that you felt yourself humiliated and a disgrace to your profession or your family. We don't know what happened regarding the nurse yet. This may not be a suicide at all - she might have had a stroke. The primary issue is why was this call made to begin with and when did making prank calls with the intention of humiliating someone become so entertaining?
it is so sad that you dont get it at all ..................but then i bet those who dont understand would be the first to asked to ban this and that ...........
Let me tell you what I think we ought to ban......you know how when you let go a good fart when you're in bed and you lift the blanket up a bit just to get a whiff (you know, you always love your own, let's be honest). I think people should go to jail for that or at least burn in Hell for eternity...what do ou think??
I'm not aware of anyone wanting to seriously ban anything. What the DJ's did was probably not illegal (nor should it be,) and bad speech is no reason to ban any speech. If people are really outraged about stuff like this the appropriate action is to complain to the station advertisers about the show, don't listen to the station while they are still on air, and boycott products advertising on the show if nothing else works. Being outraged at someone else's bad behavior is not a call to legislate against boorish behavior.
What they did is not illegal with the Australian version of the FCC. They don't have rules, like the U.S., they have unenforceable guidelines. These kind of prank calls by U.S. licensees have been enforceably illegal for years. You can make the call and record it, but you can't publish it without the express consent of the one pranked. No so in Australia. They broke no law.
Anita, Be honest...have you ever lifted up the sheets just a bit???
Anita, I loved you in West Side Story when you were putting on those stockings.
under sharia law both of them need to kill themselves now
Agree. But first they must be blessed by one of those cheery, happy-faced, filled with the love of God Ayatollahs.
I have not seen anyone bring this up ; but the real problem here is the hospital, British security and their protocols. The nurse was well intentioned. The DJs were typical entertainers. The consequence was not obvious. But you can't just call a hospital and get information on a famous person. It is not suppossed to happen. There are protocols and procedures that were not followed.
Are you 'Heartbroken' enough to follow her example and "Do Yourselves In?"
Nah - you don't have the gonads.......
Some who posted are caring people. Some just do not get it. This nurse from India cared about patient confidentiality. Some people who posted have empathy. Some just do not. To fail to respect another person's job but just care about your own is extraordinarily selfish. What really matters is these two reporters will finally learn that her job was a hell of lot more important than theirs. She was a nurse, wife and mother. She had every right to see this violation of her effort to achieve patient confidentiality as a life ending situation. Each of us must decide what we value most and hopefully it is not ourselves.
Leaving behind a husband and two children, now that's selfish. What ever happened to saying, I made a mistake and I'm sorry that I was taken in by this hoax. Do you think the royal family would have ask for her head? I don't think so.
My, my. The poor things are heartbroken. Am i to feel sorry for them? My sympathies go those who are grieving. The family is probably devastated at their loss.
This is what's wrong with today's society. A lot of people believe you can say what you want to anybody and hide behind some screen name or telephone. Stupid pranks, bullying, politics are all the same. Washington is just as guilty. These 2 should be prosecuted for manslaughter or whatever the Australian equivalent is. Apparntly tey are just stupid and this false 'I'm sorry' BS from them is just that, BS, cover your A$$.
Keel haul them!! Burn them at the stake!!! Let them go down into the pit, so us good, and decent, and holy god-fearin' people can stone them to death.
I got a better idea. Let's round up all those poor morose souls who have never laughed, or pranked somone, or did something just a little bit outrageous to lighten up life a bit. And let's make THOSE dreary, long faced as8holes go down into the pit so we can stone those muthers!! The nurse death was tragic, but completely and utterly UNINTENDED!!! Don't make things worse by being an as8hole and condemning them. Grow Up!!!
The Nurse must have had other issues, she was pranked, she should have gotten over it. It is in poor tast what happened, but it is no reason to kill your self, there had to be another issue.
Perhaps if the world's media hadn't been so obsessive in their coverage of the"Royal Family," ad nauseam, then it is just possible that this may never have happened.
Remorse is a bad second to wisdom. Who thought that fraudulently attempting to get private medical information was a good idea, or even just a prank? The DJ's had the judgement of a teenager, yet they are adults. It would be nice if they would do the adult thing, take responsibility, and take care of the nurse's family for the rest of their lives, but I suspect the station will go for lawyers and litigation. Remorse is not likely to go as far as sacrificing money!!
This was to say the least....very bad judgement on the DJs part ...as well as the producer and owner of company who allowed the recording to go....they are never 'Live' anymore and someone else had to 'okay' it as well.....the producer should be sitting there as well.
Regardless of whether the nurse had issues at all,.....no one ever knows what is going on......that is why you watch what you do or say.....
Are the DJs completely responsible ....no.....but are they partly....ABSOLUTELY!.....
"I hope they can get through this"......is that all they have to say.....?
Shameful, shameful, shameful.....this was not a 'joke'...this was at someone else's expense without any regard for that other person.....shameful!
Get out of radio...your judgement stinks!
You need a few hours of listening to the greatest radio DJ of all time.....Howard Stern!!! Be careful though, you might crack a smile, or maybe even laugh, which could crack your face.
...now help me understand this ...how is it the radio station's fault this occurred?
Actually, the people who listen to this garbage on the radio and think it is funny perpetuate the behavior. If we stop thinking this kind of bullying and public humiliation is fun, stop listening and buying the sponsors products, and people stop making money doing it, it will stop.
The very first thing I thought of when I heard about the nurse "killing herself" was: I wonder which member of the royal family gave the order to have this woman killed....
Saw part of their interview - their practiving really paid off - they actually looked somewhat convincing. Yet - how would they feel if someone had pranked them - pretend to be a police officer and call to say a family member was at the hospital due to a car accident and they should hurry because not expected to survive - and then they run down there - perhaps cause an accident on the way and injure someone else - only to find it was just a hoax? Doubt they would have been joking things up in social media afterwards...
Fraud - 'intentional deception made for personal gain'. The station at least should be prosecuted.
How can they continue to work on the air. I would not be able to and act like it never happened by just moving on.
These two are idiots
Put down the knitting, get up off the rocking chair, open up the blinds and windows, take a deep breath of fresh air and let the sun warm your face.....and, ah, stop taking yourself so seriously...no one else does.
These two knew what they were doing. Why aren't they in jail???
negligent homicide
I'm sorry, but this is getting way out of hand. I agree with zapain, this was a JOKE, it was not intended for someone to die as a result. If you look for intent, their intent was to elicit a few giggles, they said they thought they would immediately be hung up on, so I don't see any "evil" intent here. Not to speak ill of the dead, but this woman must have had other issues, if she took her life over this, I'm sorry, but that's true. Even the woman who actually spoke to them about the princess didn't go that far. The majority of us would have been embarrassed or felt dumb, and probably even taken some heat at work. But a mother of two young kids KILLS HERSELF over this? Absolutely nuts, and is not a normal reaction to the situation. Why wouldn't she put her kids first, and realize this will blow over like everything does. She must have been pretty emotionally fragile to begin with. And this BS of comparing it to the Princess Diana situation, get the eff out of here, that's ridiculous. Radio show pranks happen almost every day, some work, some don't. These people feel terrible, as anyone with a soul would, but it's time for everyone to calm down and get a grip. This is not murder, these people are not murderers, it was juvenile but it was not meant to have such a tragic consequence. And maybe the hospital needs to step up and take some responsibility here too, sounds like their staff was not trained very well to maintain security for a royal patient. They should be the ones making sure this woman's family is taken care of.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I was beginning to think there was no one as smart as me left in the world!!! Glad to meetcha!!!
Is the kid who drops a giant snowball off a freeway overpass onto a car, just pulling a prank?
What if the car skids and hits another car? What if someone is killed? Who is responsible?
If you can't see that these DJs are responsible for this nurse's death, you're deliberately ignorant or insane.
Damn!!! Just when I had hope for humanity, along comes Captain Jack Wigal, to enforce all that is right and good and holy (well, according to Captain Jack As8 anyway). Jack, are you really saying that your brain is so small that you see no distinction between throwing something at a moving automobile and what the DJs did? If so, please be careful not to tilt your head to one side too much because that little ball you fell rolling around in your head might fall out your ear.
Blah, blah, blah, blah...........
Sorry?? Go back into seclusion, you're a day late and a dollar short.
In some cultures, shame is something to kill for, or to kill yourself for. It is unbelievable, but that is what she felt she had to do. Are these DJs to blame? I don't think so. It is a very sad outcome though and her children are the big victims.
The nurse must have been under tremendous pressure for her to take her life. Yeah, she was a victim of a hoax but people just don't take their own life because of that.