‘Don’t ask it’: Jackie ‘O’ Henderson scolds Kyle Sandilands for asking Ricki-Lee Coulter a seemingly innocent question about her personal life – but does she have a point?
It has been a common question in celebrity interviews for years: ‘So, when are you having a baby?’
But when Kyle Sandilands ventured to ask singer Ricki-Lee Coulter about her family plans on Thursday, he was quickly shut down by his co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson.
Ricki-Lee, 34, was chatting on The Kyle and Jackie O Show about her new single and married life when Kyle blurted out: ‘Are you going to have babies?’
Appropriate? KIIS FM’s Kyle Sandilands (right) asked Ricki-Lee Coulter (centre) about her baby plans on Thursday, only to be shut down by co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson (left, on the screen)
The awkward moment happened while Ricki-Lee was speaking about her marriage to Richard Harrison, who also happens to be her manager.
‘Whatever’s going on with you, your love life, career, everything’s going brilliantly,’ he said. ‘What about babies. Are you going to have babies? Are you going to let him fill your…’
‘Don’t ask it,’ Jackie interrupted. ‘She gets asked that all the time.’
Getting candid: The awkward moment happened while Ricki-Lee was speaking about her marriage to Richard Harrison (right), who also happens to be her manager
Scolding: Kyle (left) asked Ricki-Lee, ‘Are you going to have babies?’ Jackie O (right) then interrupted to say, ‘Don’t ask it. She gets asked that all the time’
The Australian Idol star didn’t take offence to the comment, and simply said she was a ‘good auntie’ and that her sister was having a baby in a ‘couple of weeks’.
‘But you’re not having a baby yet?’ asked Kyle, to which Ricki-Lee replied: ‘Nah.’
Later on, Ricki-Lee happily shared photos to Instagram from her visit to KIIS FM’s studio, showing that there were no hard feelings.
There is some debate about whether it is appropriate to ask someone in the context of a celebrity interview if they plan to have children.
No worries: The Australian Idol star didn’t take offence to the comment, and simply said she was a ‘good auntie’ and that her sister was having a baby in a ‘couple of weeks’
‘Rocking out’: Later on, Ricki-Lee happily shared photos to Instagram from her visit to KIIS FM’s studio, showing that there were no hard feelings
Almost all magazines, websites and radio and TV shows ask the question at some stage – mainly because stories about stars’ personal lives perform better than those about their professional lives.
In September last year, News Corp magazine Stellar announced it would no longer ask female celebrities about their baby plans in interviews.
At the time, the magazine’s editor claimed the decision was made because the interview subject might be privately struggling with fertility problems.
Diversifying her career: In her 15-year career, Ricki-Lee has hosted a radio show on Nova 96.9 and more recently fronted Australia’s Got Talent on Channel Seven