(CNN) – An Australian radio show has been shut down after a prank call to the hospital treating Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, and a woman’s apparent suicide.
The two DJs responsible for a prank call to the nurse of the former Kate Middleton spoke out for the first time since Jacintha Saldanha, who transferred the call, was found dead Friday.
The radio hosts impersonated British royal family members Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles when calling the hospital Tuesday.
They said they regret what happened.
“The accents were terrible; it was designed to be stupid,” host Mel Greig said. “We were never meant to get that far from the … the little corgis barking in the background. We obviously wanted it to be a joke.”
The hoax was centered on Prince William’s wife, who was being treated at King Edward VII Hospital for acute morning sickness.
“And I suppose the joke was always on us, not on anyone else,” co-host Michael Christian said. “It wasn’t about trying to fool someone. We just assumed with the voices we put on, we were going to get told off, and that was the gag,”
On Monday, the Southern Cross Austereo media group announced it had taken the radio show off the air.
The company has also suspended all advertising on the station until further notice.
“I’m just so devastated for them. I’m really feeling for them,” Greig said. “If we had any idea that something like this could be even possible to happen, you know? We couldn’t see this happening. It was meant to be a prank call.”
http://www.19actionnews.com/story/20303555/aussie-radio-show-shut-down-after-prank-call
Article Courtesy of CNN and WOIO 19 Action News
