Jessica Mauboy speaks out on shock 'jelly belly' comments made to her on Australian Idol - and why her experience at Eurovision 2018 was overshadowed by 'politics and greed'

Jessica Mauboy has spoken out about the shock comments Australian Idol judge Kyle Sandilands made to her in 2006, telling her to 'lose the jelly belly'.

The 36-year-old singer admitted she was taken aback by the open body-shaming, as her family had always been accepting about who she was.

'I was so young, I'd never had this put on me before. My mum never said that to me, my dad never said that, I never got it at school. No-one ever commented about my body,' she told this week's Stellar's Something To Talk About podcast.

She added that Kyle's comments had cast a long shadow over her professional career - and helped her become a more caring and compassionate individual.

'The comments Kyle made will be forever attached to everything I do. I felt like that 16-year-old girl thinking that I don't know what to do with that comment,' she revealed.

'What am I supposed to do? I'm 16 and that's what I'm here for, I'm here to learn, I'm here to understand but how is it about my appearance? Isn't it a singing show?' 

However, she revealed that some good had come out of the experience as she was now very careful about what she said in her role as a guest judge and mentor on the current series of Australian Idol, so as to not hurt contestants feelings. 

'I have to be very careful because I know what it felt like having been on the show and having Kyle call me a jelly belly. That cannot go on,' she admitted. 

She also lifted the lid on her 'horrific' Eurovision 2018 experience for the first time - revealing how the global spectacle left her shaken.

Nearly eight years after representing Australia with We Got Love, the singer has admitted the performance - now one of her most-streamed songs - was overshadowed by 'politics' and a brutal backlash that followed her 20th-place finish.

Despite the song's enduring popularity, Jessica confessed it became something she avoided - a painful reminder of what unfolded behind the scenes.

'I'm reclaiming [the song] now because of the horrific way it went down then,' she said.

'I celebrate it differently now. It was one of the biggest vulnerable moments of my life, putting that song into the world, sharing the story of those lyrics. It was kind of overshadowed by politics.'

While Eurovision is marketed as a unifying celebration of music, Jessica described a far harsher reality — one shaped by intense pressure, backstage noise and competing agendas.

No one had prepared her for the reality of the competition - and in the immediate aftermath, things took a deeply personal turn.

'I remember receiving a phone call from [a Sony executive] saying I hadn't done enough or I didn't do my job properly,' she recalled.

'I was confused but then put the puzzle together; they obviously hoped we were going to get something – a hit – out of it.'

The comment stung — particularly given the emotional investment she had poured into the performance.

Jessica said the experience was clouded not just by industry pressure, but by wider forces — including ongoing tension around Australia's place in Eurovision and voting patterns that have long frustrated local entrants.

'I wanted to bring the club to them because it's one of those songs that just hits home,' she said.

'Every time I perform it I get quite emotional, because it says everything about the corruption, politics and greed of the world right now.'

Ironically, the song that once symbolised one of the toughest moments of her career has gone on to thrive — particularly within the LGBTQIA+ community, where it has found a second life on dance floors across Europe. 

Jessica has been achieving some significant life goals in recent years and in March 2025, she revealed she became a mother for the first time .

The Aussie pop star broke the happy news that she and husband Themeli Magriplis were the proud parents of a baby girl to Stellar.