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Kyle Sandilands slams Byron locals petitioning against Netflix show
Kyle Sandilands has slammed the Byron Bay locals who have attempted to stop Netflix from filming their new reality show Byron Baes after it was revealed numerous hospitality venues had turned down the streaming giant's requests to film in their venues.
While chatting about the show on the Kyle and Jackie O Show on Tuesday, Kyle questioned if they were being serious.
"I know you mentioned also that a lot of the Byron locals are flipping out and I thought, really?" he asked co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson, who responded, "Yeah, they don't want it."
"Is that a real thing, I didn't think it was real!" he said, questioning why they care so much.
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"Yeah, 100 per cent," she said. "Well, I think it's because they don't want Byron Bay to turn into a joke of a place like the Shire did when they released that reality show, remember when The Shire came out and it just really like put this kind of different spin on the Shire, you know, it was almost embarrassing."
"People that lived in the Shire were embarrassed about the people that were representing the Shire, and when they were like fighting, bitch fights... Well, they didn't like that and I think Byron Bay [locals] are sort of worried that now it's becoming - it's getting canned so much, Byron. Like all celebrities there and people are like, 'What's so special about Byron?' and 'Byron's over,'" Jackie added.
She explained that the perception of the beachside town has been "changing" recently.
"Well, a local showed up on... the Today show, and he had people behind him with placards saying, 'Give Netflix the flick'. There's another one: 'Nope Ficks!' Oh, that's very clever," Kyle said sarcastically. "There's another one there to be with a big Aboriginal flag [saying] 'Consult traditional owners!', that's going a bit far."
They then played audio of the Byron Bay local named Ben Gordon, who co-owns Byron Bay General Store, on the Today Show, saying why they didn't want the show to film in their town.
"The actual image of Byron, if you're a resident here and a community member, is completely different," Ben said. "And that's why we're so in shock because they're portraying us falsely from their own kind of fantasy picture of what Byron is as a community are saying, 'No, that's not who we are and we don't want to be portrayed in that way."
"Get over yourselves," Kyle quipped. "Who cares if some hottie is sitting at a window, eating a fruit drink or something like that and looking at the sunrise. Is that really hurting anyone?"
Jackie defended the locals, saying she understands where they're coming from and that they're worried they'll be laughed at when people think of the show. However, she agreed with Kyle, who said the show will probably be "half-decent" if Netflix is involved.
"The locals are carrying on up there like it's the end of the earth, like the airports being put in the middle of the town or something. It's just a couple of chicks taking photos in big hats. They love their life, that's not the end of your life," Kyle said.
"Byron, you're fine. You'll be the same as you've always been. A few big mega-mansions put up that's fine, but they're hidden," he added.
Ben took to Facebook last week to encourage other business owners not to allow the "tacky" show to film at their venues.
"ATT: Byron Bay Business Owners," he began. "There is a good chance you have been, or soon will be contacted by the Byron Bae production crew looking for somewhere to film their tacky show. So far myself and several other local Cafe/Restaurant owners have been approached and have declined to let them shoot in our venues.
"They will try to convince you with words like 'huge exposure' and 'free marketing' but I believe it will do much more damage to your business than good. This is not the kind of exposure you want."
He continued, "If you care about the future of this town and don't want this show to go ahead, it's simple... Don't let them film in your venue. It will limit their content drastically and also will continue to send the message that Byron does not want to be portrayed to the world in this way."
Many Facebook users immediately took his side on the matter, saying they wouldn't allow the show to shoot inside their business either.
Others didn't see the big deal, like Kyle.
The show faced criticism following the first announcement with some saying they'd be willing to cancel their Netflix subscription over it.
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