New Zealand TV host Paul Henry resigns amid uproar

[웃 910]

• Any guesses on the correct pronunciation for Sheila DIKSHIT?
• TV presenter resigns amid uproar
• Criticised for "racist" jokes
• Mispronounced Delhi chief Dikshit's name

CONTROVERSIAL New Zealand television presenter Paul Henry has resigned amid an uproar over racial comments.

TVNZ chief executive Rick Ellis accepted Henry's resignation at a meeting today.

Ellis said Henry's comments had damaged TVNZ's reputation and could have put off advertisers.

Earlier in the week Henry had been suspended without pay after asking the Prime Minister John Key whether Governor General Sir Anand Satyanand was "even a New Zealander".

The incident escalated into a diplomatic incident when reports emerged of Henry laughing at the name of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, and mispronouncing it as "D*ck-sh*t".

A spokeswoman for Key said the resignation had brought closure.

"This episode has been sad and regrettable," the spokeswoman said.

Henry, who hosted a morning program called the Breakfast Show, said it was "no longer practical in the current environment for me to do the job I was employed to do, and have so enjoyed doing."

"I am astonished and dismayed that my comments have created a diplomatic incident," Henry said. "I walk the finest of lines and accept that I have inadvertently crossed it from time to time."

Read more: http://www.news.com....2#ixzz11y82JyAz

Edited October 10, 2010 by Lord Infamous