The 2021 radio line-ups were announced on Monday and while KIISFM staples, Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O are bracing for another year on top, their 3 pm Pick-up counterparts have had an overhaul.
Most notably, Kate Langbroek (formerly of the Hit Network’s Hughesy and Kate) is making a return to her old home of the Australian Radio Network, replacing Rebecca Judd and joining co-hosts Monty Dimond and Yumi Stynes.
While a coo in itself, it’s the stepping down of Judd that we’re most intrigued by and more interestingly the reason she has decided to leave radio.
Addressing the news on the Pick-Up show on Monday afternoon, Judd told listeners she wanted to focus on her four children — Oscar, eight, Billie, six, and three-year-old twins Tom and Darcy. Her husband, former AFL star Chris Judd is also stepping back from his own radio gig in support of his family and no doubt, his wife.
“It’s been one of those years … a COVID year, where we’ve spent so much time at home and as a family, we’ve reprioritised what we’re doing,” she said during the broadcast.
Judd went on to say that this was the first time since her husband had retired in 2015 that they “haven’t had any commitments”.
“This year has taught us that we just want to take a step back and not have those weekly commitments,” she said, before later adding: “I’ve got such a young family, my twins start school not next year but the year after, so I’ve got one year left at home with them and we just want to really make the most of those golden years — they’re slipping away those golden years.”
Judd, of course, is like many other Australians and families globally who have seen what is really important during such a chaotic year, but it does make you wonder, was she really the right fit for the job in the first place?
Don’t get me wrong, Judd’s life truly is one of interest and her stories about motherhood could truly resonate with some others out there, however, was she too unrelatable to the show’s audience? Time and time again, the mother-of-four came under fire for being out of touch with the real-world — where the majority of her listeners live.
Back in September, there was a call to “cancel” the 37-year-old after she took a swipe at the Victorian Premier, Dan Andrews while she plugged a kids product from her $7.3 million home.
” … It seems Dictator Dan will be locking Victorians in our homes even longer,” she captioned a video. Even though she was quick to remove it, people were quick to call her out for being “tone deaf” — i.e. complaining when she seemingly lives it up in luxury.
When she appeared on an episode of The Block (just after her social media faux pas), fans questioned if she was a suitable guest judge, with a Twitter user even commenting: “Me to wife: WTF credentials does Bec Judd have? Wife: Money? Privilege?”
This was despite her experience in the space, being a host of popular travel and lifestyle show Postcards until filming was forced to halt due to COVID-19 and Melbourne’s lockdown restrictions, as well as a long history working with interiors and styling for Adairs.
Judd’s lavish party-throwing has also been a cause for public outcry in the past. Remember 2019’s housewarming extravaganza — “Juddchella”? While I personally love watching the lifestyles of the rich and famous, it doesn’t seem likely that listeners of the Pick-Up have the same knack for private parties.
Professor David Marshall, a new media, communication and cultural studies professor at Deakin University in Melbourne said in an interview with the DailyMail that Judd maintained a fan-base because she still appears “down-to-earth on social media despite their ostentatious displays of wealth”.
“They’re playing to the Kardashian effect,” Dr Marshall told the outlet. The thing about the Judds is that they are beautiful people in that kind of Kardashian way, and they are, with this (housewarming) event, playing on a surface notion of value.”
With Judd stepping back, it seems quite obvious that it isn’t only just to focus on her family, but possibly a step back from the spotlight which made her an Australian media mainstay.
Maybe she too wanted to re-centre and find out what she stands for without the prying eye of her 838K Instagram followers, radio fans and social media trolls.
Bec Judd may not have been relatable enough for a show that is aimed at parents on the school drive and to be honest, maybe she knows it.