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Kyle Sandilands’ conduct may not be “nice” but “if you buy Kyle, you get Kyle”, the federal court has heard in a high-profile legal fight the sacked shock jock describes as “pretty ugly”.

Sandilands’ barrister, Scott Robertson SC, has told the court the allegations about Sandilands’ conduct may “be regarded as serious misconduct for the purposes of employment law”, but they are not “serious misconduct for the purposes of this particular contract”.

“If you buy Kyle, you get Kyle,” Robertson said. “The kind of conduct in which he engaged was conduct that was desired, contractually desired, that’s the word in the contract, and indeed was monetised.”

ARN has alleged Sandilands repeatedly berated Kiis FM executives, the radio station’s censors, critics of the Kyle and Jackie O Show and the Melbourne audience in expletive-laden rants which amount to serious misconduct.

“And whilst I don’t like this conduct – me sitting here as a citizen, I look at [it] and say, this is not nice conduct, it’s not the kind of conduct that I think someone should engage in – [but] it does not amount to conduct of a kind that entitled the respondents [ARN] to terminate this contract.”

The former Kiis FM breakfast host described his legal fight against ARN Media for $85m as “pretty ugly” as he arrived at the federal court in Sydney in a Rolls-Royce in front of a large media pack.

Sandilands attended the joint case hearing, but his former on-air partner Jackie “O” Henderson was a no show. Both are suing ARN Media for more than $80m each.

He again called on ARN Media to put him back on the radio where he was earning $10m a year for 10 years before he was sacked for serious misconduct last month.

A reporter asked “How ugly is this going to get?”, to which Sandilands replied: “It’s pretty ugly now.”

His message to ARN: “Put me back on the radio and let’s get the share price back up.”

Asked if he had spoken with Henderson, he said he hadn’t.

ARN is seeking damages from the pair for breach of their separate $100m contracts and loss of advertising revenue.

ARN Media alleges Sandilands breached his contract by repeatedly berating colleagues and the audience on air.

Justice Angus Stewart will conduct the second case management hearing despite the applicants filing separate cases against ARN.

Sandilands told waiting media he had no strategy, he just wanted the truth to get out.

Robertson said he is opposed to a joint hearing with Henderson because it may delay his client’s case, which would deny him procedural fairness.

Robertson has argued that the longer Sandilands is off air, the more it disadvantages him because the audience may move on to another show.

He described ARN’s defence document released on Thursday as as a “kitchen sink defence” which includes additional allegations against Sandilands.

“This is not a case that’s just about money,” Robertson said. “Mr Sandilands wants to get back before the microphone … This is not the opera singer who doesn’t want to sing. This is the broadcaster and performer who wants to get behind the microphone ASAP.”