Car giant pulls TV sponsorship after Annan race slur

Car giant Mitsubishi today withdrew its sponsorship of a TV show hosted by controversial New Zealand broadcaster Paul Holmes, following his astonishing racial slur against United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Holmes, who also has a morning radio programme on NewstalkZB, said last week on the radio show that the world would not be told how to live by a Ghanaian, and referred to Annan as a “cheeky darkie”.

During the same radio programme, Holmes also criticised the high number of women journalists in his profession.

Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand said pulling its sponsorship from the “Holmes” television current affairs show was a matter of “principle before profits”.

“The board and management find the views recently expressed by Paul Holmes regarding United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and women journalists to be completely unacceptable and incompatible with the ethos of our company,” Mitsubishi managing director John Leighton said.

Leighton said he was astounded when he first heard of the comments about Annan.

“It was almost unbelievable,” he said.

Leighton refused to say how much the company had paid for the two-year contract, which had six months to run.

Holmes last week apologised and insisted he was not a racist.

“I should not have said what I did. It was tongue-in-cheek. It was the shock end of the spectrum – it was a bit mad probably,” Holmes said.

Prime minister Helen Clark disowned his words and at least two other cabinet ministers, listeners and race relations groups expressed outrage.

“That comment was completely unacceptable and demeaning of one of the world’s top civil servants,” Clark said. “I would not want New Zealand in any way to be associated with such comments.”

Leighton said the apology from Holmes did little to ease the impact of the original comments.

“There are some things you can’t apologise for and I am afraid some things when they are done, they are done. They cannot be undone by simply saying I am sorry,” he said.

Television New Zealand said in a brief statement it regretted Mitsubishi’s action.

A Samoan-born producer on Holmes’ television show resigned, apparently in protest at the comments. Other staff have asked to be moved from the show on the state broadcaster.