News Presenter Suspended after Racist Remark about New Zealand Governer General

[Rainraven]

TVNZ has today suspended Breakfast host Paul Henry over remarks he made about Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand.

Henry has been under fire since the comments on TVNZ's Breakfast programme yesterday, and TVNZ has received around 600 formal complaints.

In an interview with Prime Minister John Key, Henry asked if Sir Anand was "even a New Zealander".

Henry then asked Key about his next choice of Governor-General: "Are you going to choose a New Zealander who looks and sounds like a New Zealander this time? Are we going to go for someone who is more like a New Zealander this time?"

TVNZ CEO Rick Ellis said today that Henry's remarks were inappropriate for anyone in the company to make.

"I have met with Paul and told him that while his apologies were the right thing to do and that I believe he is sincere in his regret, I still consider his remarks unacceptable for any employee of TVNZ to make.

"We give Paul a lot of freedom with the Breakfast programme and he does a magnificent job. But as we have said before, with that freedom comes responsibility.

"Paul is one of New Zealand's best broadcasters. He is a provocative host who speaks his mind and that is what many New Zealanders like about him.

"But I consider his latest remarks to have well and truly crossed the line."

Full Article (http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/tvnz-suspends-paul-henry-3818718)

[Loddfafner]

He has also gotten into trouble for pronouncing the name of an Indian official the way it is spelled:



India has condemned "racist and bigoted" remarks by a New Zealand TV presenter who made fun of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's surname.

TVNZ breakfast show host Paul Henry broke into laughter a number of times as he mispronounced the surname - which sounds closer to "Dixit" in English.

He told viewers Ms Dikshit's name was "appropriate because she's Indian".

New Zealand's government has apologised for the remarks, describing them as "culturally insensitive and vulgar".

Sheila Dikshit is overseeing arrangements for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, which have been beset by problems. She brushed off Mr Henry's remarks but said they were "not appropriate".


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11490699

[poiuytrewq0987]

NZ's Obama:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Anand_Satyanand.JPG

[Debaser11]

Everyone's a goddamned victim. Boohoo.

[Loki]

New Zealand TV host resigns over Indian race row

New Zealand television host Paul Henry has resigned after provoking public outrage over his on-air comments about Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/49405000/jpg/_49405144_paulhenryafp304.jpg

He laughed a number of times as he mispronounced the surname, which sounds closer to "Dixit" in English.

Indian officials condemned the remarks as "racist and bigoted".

He was already suspended for suggesting that Governor General Sir Anand Satyanand, who is of Fijian-Indian heritage, was not a real New Zealander.

As controversy mounted over those remarks, made last week, his earlier remarks about Ms Dikshit resurfaced.

'Insensitive and vulgar'

Mr Henry, presenting TVNZ's Breakfast programme told viewers two weeks ago that Ms Dikshit's name was "appropriate because she's Indian.

"I've known about her for a while and I've been laughing ever since," he said.

The remarks sparked indignation both in New Zealand and in India.

India's foreign ministry summoned the New Zealand high commissioner last week to register a formal protest.

New Zealand's government has apologised for the remarks, describing them as "culturally insensitive and vulgar".

Sheila Dikshit is overseeing arrangements for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, which have been beset by problems. She brushed off Mr Henry's remarks but said they were "not appropriate".

Announcing his resignation, Mr Henry said it was "no longer practical in the current environment for me to do the job".

He added: "I am astonished and dismayed that my comments have created a diplomatic incident. My style is conversational and of course unscripted. I walk the finest of lines and accept that I have inadvertently crossed it from time to time."

Prime Minister John Key said the whole episode was "sad and regrettable" but his resignation should bring "closure".

The chief executive of TVNZ, Rick Ellis, commended Mr Henry's decision to resign, saying his comments split the community and damaged New Zealand's international relationships.

Mr Henry has a reputation for controversial comments.

He once described Scottish singer Susan Boyle as "retarded" and accused a female guest from Greenpeace of having a moustache, New Zealand press reports say.

[Pallantides]

Lol 'Dick shit':D

[Debaser11]

Who is so outraged? A few stupid coloreds and some white pussies? This is honestly so stupid. I've had my last name mispronounced and made fun of by someone with different color skin than me. Had I only known how much of a victim I was then.

[Pallantides]

Who is so outraged? A few stupid coloreds and some white pussies? This is honestly so stupid. I've had my last name mispronounced and made fun of by someone with different color skin than me. Had I only known how much of a victim I was then.
Even Norwegian politicans make fun of foreigners with funny names:D
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bongo_from_Congo


"Bongo from Congo" (Norwegian: Bongo fra Kongo) is the name which then Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Thorbjørn Jagland, applied to Gabon's president Omar Bongo when Bongo visited Norway in 2001. Jagland stated on 2 February 2001 in the nationally broadcast television show I kveld med Per Ståle on TV 2 that "everybody at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs went around saying that 'now you are going to meet with Bongo from Congo'".
The commingling of the two words Bongo and Congo would tend to conjure mental imagery of African savagery, especially in the elder part of the Norwegian population, similar to the English as well as Norwegian use of the word Sambo. Thus, Jagland's reference was perceived as racially insensitive for pandering to such traditional ignorance and bigotry. Consequently the reference by a former prime minister of a foreign dignitary sparked immediate scorn as well as ridicule (of Jagland, not Bongo), especially since this was not the first time Thorbjørn Jagland had made spontaneous comments on various issues which by critics were asserted as sign of poor judgement.
Bongo fra Kongo was later used as the title of a book containing politicians' quotes.

[Debaser11]

Enjoy that freedom while it lasts.