Complaint over Breakfast host Matty McLean's 'flirtatious antics' rejected by BSA

The Broadcasting Standards Authority has dismissed a complaint against Breakfast host Matty McLean over an "indecent" interaction on air.

A Breakfast broadcast on April 22 this year saw McLean present an instalment of Aussie Adventure, which promotes Australian tourism destinations.

But when he spoke with a male Aussie cabaret performer, the joking and flirting between the pair didn't go down too well with one viewer.

At one point the performer suggested McLean kiss him on the cheek, but then moved his face, resulting in a kiss on the lips.

According to the BSA ruling, Richard O'Halloran claimed the interaction was "pornographic" and breached the standards of good taste and decency.

"I think that the interactions of two males, one preening the other, was in bad taste and indecent especially during the school holidays … I do not consider context a defence. It was the school holidays and so I think the broadcaster should have been mindful of that," he said.

However, TVNZ responded that since Breakfast is aimed at an adult audience, "there is an expectation that parents exercise discretion around viewing news and current affairs programmes with their children."

The broadcaster went on to say that the interview "did not contain sexual material" and "there was no content resembling "porn".

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"The interview was conducted with the men sitting close to each other and at times they touched each other in a friendly and affectionate way. We do not agree that there was anything inappropriate about this or that it was likely to have caused widespread offence to Breakfast viewers."

The BSA declined to uphold the complaint, saying it did not raise issues of potential harm.

McLean himself took it all in good fun, sharing the decision on his social media.

"So proud of me and @accordionhans who received a BSA complaint for our "pornographic" interaction on @breakfaston1 earlier this year," he wrote on Instagram.

"Unbelievably, the complaint was not upheld."

When his colleague Andrew McFarlane shared the results of the complaint on Twitter, McLean responded, "Considering the 'joking and flirtatious' antics I have with John Campbell on a daily basis, I'm amazed it took someone this long to complain!"