Andrew Cosi Costello let go effective immediately from SA radio show
A popular SA radio host will part ways with his show, just days after he declared he “felt sorry” for Gina Rinehart amid the Diamonds sponsorship saga.
Andrew ‘Cosi’ Costello, who co-hosts the Hit Network’s SAFM breakfast show Bec, Cosi & Lehmo with Rebecca Morse and Anthony ‘Lehmo’ Lehmann, will leave the show immediately, it was announced on-air Friday morning.
Morse and Lehmann are expected to be back on-air November 4, though the station has yet to confirm plans for its 2023 line-up.
Speculation has been mounting for weeks that there would be a shake-up at the show, which failed to outperform its competitors in the recent radio ratings.
Costello, a true radio veteran of more than two decades, took to his ‘South Aussie with Cosi’ Facebook page to address the news.
“I’ve just been told SAFM has decided to push on in 2023 without the Bec, Cosi and Lehmo breakfast show,” he wrote.
“I’ve loved SAFM so much since I first walked in the doors as a pig farmer from Kadina 23 years ago. They gave me my start in the media and it’s been a wonderful run since then. I wish them well.”
Costello had been hosting the show with Morse for three years, with Lehmann joining the duo in mid-2020.
Speaking to the Adelaide Advertiser, Costello said he wasn’t given an explanation by his employer, but vowed to “definitely” return to radio.
“Eleven years ago … they sat me down and they sacked me,” Costello told the publication.
“I was mortified. I walked out onto Greenhill Rd and just bawled my eyes out.
“I said, OK, I’ll never get in that position again; I’ll never fall victim to a station dictating my future like that.
“Fast forward to yesterday and they’ve done it again, but I’m not sad this time. Because I’ve got so much else going on.”
He said he was “disappointed” but “not sad” about the move, which comes after Costello slammed Australian netballers for “cracking the s***s” in a divisive Facebook post about the Diamonds’ turning their back on mining billionaire Rinehart’s $15 million sponsorship.
Diamonds players last week refused to wear a team uniform that including branding from Rinehart’s company Hancock Prospecting.
It is understood Indigenous player Donnell Wallam did not feel comfortable wearing a uniform with the logo as a result of shocking comments made by Rinehart’s father Lang Hancock in the 1980s, when he infamously suggested that Indigenous Australians should be sterilised to “breed themselves out” in coming years.
On Facebook, Costello accused the team of “spitting in (Rinehart’s) face”, adding Rinehart sponsored his own charity, Cows for Cambodia.
“She’s the richest woman in Australia but still had the time for our little charity,” he wrote.
“She was attracted by her love for the cattle industry and helped us to no end. Never once asking for anything in return.
“She was kind enough to spend $15 million sponsoring this netball team. She didn’t have to. She chose to help them. Then a few don’t like mining so they crack the s***s.
“You’d think a group of ladies would embrace and welcome a successful business woman like Gina. Instead they spat in her face.
“Gina will find someone more grateful to accept her money. I feel sorry for her. She was doing this because she wanted to help.
“To the team members that got the s***s. You’ve won. You’ve lost the sponsor. But at what cost to the rest of the team or the sport? Time will tell.
“I wonder are those that got the s***s using any products that are derived from mining? I bet they are. Of course they are. Crazy!”
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Costello’s comments were shared on Reddit where they attracted hundreds of comments and he was accused of “having a pity-party” for Rinehart.
News.com.au is not suggesting his comments were related to the SAFM move.
News.com.au contacted SAFM and Costello for comment.
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