Do we like Jessica Mauboy?
Our score: 8 out of 10. No harmful words or company turned up, there's years of Mardi Gras shows and literacy work, and one old Melbourne Cup stumble.
Jess Mauboy was 16 when she became the runner-up on the fourth season of Australian Idol in 2006. That was the springboard for a career that has run across pop, film and TV for two decades. She's one of those rare Aussie stars who has stayed likeable the whole way through.
The recent news is a good one for her character. In March 2026 she said on a podcast that Kyle Sandilands told her to lose the jelly belly in 2006, and that it had nothing to do with her singing. She called it bullying and said the comments will be forever attached to everything she does. She was back on Idol as a guest judge at the time, saying she wanted to make sure comments like that stop. The article carries no response from Sandilands.
The harm check comes up clean. We found no harmful words, no culture-war grievance and no dodgy company. The search turned up very little on climate or trans issues, so that part is a gap rather than a tick. What does show up is warmth for the LGBTQ+ community. In a 2018 interview she said she felt very privileged to be welcomed into it, and called Mardi Gras empowering.
The good stuff is real and long-running. She's one of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation's longest-serving ambassadors, and she's said she believes in young people. In August 2025 she was inducted into the National Indigenous Music Awards Hall of Fame, and she has since started her own independent label, Jamally.
Her one proper stumble was the 2015 Melbourne Cup. She pulled out about 30 seconds before she was due to sing the national anthem, and a backing singer stepped in. The Victoria Racing Club said it was disappointed, and she apologised publicly without giving a specific reason. It was awkward and public, but it's one bad day in a long career, not a pattern.