Jackie 'O' Henderson has defended Lisa Wilkinson after Mark Latham slammed her during a parliamentary address over claims she's 'always been about the money' amid the release of her bombshell memoir, It Wasn't Meant To Be Like This.
New South Wales One Nation leader Mr Latham blasted the 61-year-old for 'reinventing herself as a victim of the gender pay gap at Channel Nine' on Wednesday under parliamentary privilege in the state's Upper House.
He also said an old classmate alleged she 'would take the free promotional merchandise sent to her and sell them at the weekend markets and pocket the funds' while editor of Dolly and Cleo - a comment which didn't sit well with Jackie, 46.
Speaking out: Jackie 'O' Henderson (pictured) has jumped to the defence of Lisa Wilkinson, after Mark Latham slammed her during a parliamentary address over claims she's 'always been about the money' in light of her new memoir, It Wasn't Meant To Be Like This
Speaking on The Kyle and Jackie O show on Thursday, Jackie said: 'Big deal! Can I just say something. He doesn't know for sure that she was editor at this point.
'She could have been just starting out, and when you're working in the magazine world, you're not getting paid a lot of money - especially when you first start.
'She could have been getting paid $10,000 a year like I was when I first started. And the fact that she's getting freebies and selling them at the market - who cares? Good on her!'
'I know why you're coming to her defence,' her co-host Kyle Sandilands chimed in. 'You don't set up a little store down at the Glebe Markets, but I know you recycle a lot of your...'
'She could have been getting paid $10,000 a year like I was when I first started. And the fact that she's getting freebies and selling them at the market - who cares? Good on her!' Jackie said. Pictured: Jackie (left) and Lisa Wilkinson (right) in 2005
'I re-gift stuff,' Jackie continued. 'Back in the day, if you had to do that to get a bit more money, then good on her.'
Jackie also commented on another quote from Mr Latham, in which he claims the same classmate said: 'We went to Campbelltown High together and she couldn't get out of here fast enough.'
'And someone saying she "couldn't get out of Campbelltown fast enough" - that's nasty. You don't know. It's just gossiping,' Jackie, who worked with Lisa Wilkinson for a year on The Morning Shift in 2000, added.
She them said she wondered if Lisa regretted releasing her bombshell memoir in the first place.
'Or is it good? Because people are like, "I've got to get this book God knows what's in it?" Kyle responded.
Claims: One Nation Leader Mark Latham (pictured) slammed 61-year-old Lisa Wilkinson for 'reinventing herself as a victim of the gender pay gap at Channel Nine' during a parliamentary address on Wednesday
'They say any publicity is good publicity...' Jackie continued, before confirming both she and Sandilands had a mention in the book which she would discuss at a later date.
Daily Mail Australia have reached out to a representative for Lisa Wilkinson for further comment.
In the parliamentary address, Mr Latham said publicity surrounding Wilkinson's highly-anticipated autobiography had revealed she had been paid more than her Today Show co-host Karl Stefanovic for many years.
'Recently one of Wilkinson's old classmates contacted me to say "that's Lisa, it's always been about the money",' the former federal Labor Opposition leader said on Wednesday.
Latham, 60, is a renowned advocate for Sydney's west - not only living in the south-west, but having been born and educated in the area. He is also a former Labor leader and represented the seat of Werriwa in Federal Parliament.
Spray: Mr Latham claimed an old classmate of Wilkinson's (pictured) had told him the TV star had 'always been about the money' and sold freebies from her first job to make a profit
'We went to Campbelltown High together and she couldn't get out of here fast enough,' Mr Latham sad Wilkinson's old classmate revealed.
'When she was editor at Dolly and Cleo magazines Wilkinson would take the free promotional merchandise sent to her and sell them at the weekend markets and pocket the funds.
'She's always been as tight as all get out, it's always about the money and the victimhood.'
Wilkinson claims in her new book It Wasn't Meant To Be Like This, that Stefanovic proposed in August 2015 they join forces to renegotiate their Nine contracts.
But she claims he ended up ditching this idea and instead played rival networks Nine and Seven off against each other
