Influencer Uncle Tics reveals New Zealander of the Year Local Hero Award nomination was rescinded after skit backlash

Leighton Clarke (aka Uncle Tics) reveals the story behind the withdrawal of his New Zealander of the Year Local Hero nomination.

Kiwi influencer and disability advocate Leighton Clarke’s New Zealander of the Year Local Hero nomination has been withdrawn, after organisers deemed some of his online content failed to meet the values that underpin the awards.

The 32-year-old Hamiltonian is best known online as Uncle Tics. He has 4.7 million followers on TikTok and has been applauded for honestly sharing his life with Tourette Syndrome.

In a statement, the New Zealander of the Year Awards said as part of a standard process, they reviewed Clarke’s publicly available digital content, and after working with him, said he indicated he understood the values that underpin the awards.

“Further content he posted wasn’t consistent with those values, so his nomination for the Local Hero of the Year Award didn’t progress. We respect his right to express his views and wish him well in his ongoing contribution to the community.”

Clarke revealed the circumstances behind the withdrawal and his frustrations around it on Dave Letele’s Unfiltered podcast.

“That’s not going forward anymore,” Clarke said after Letele asked about the nomination, which the former boxer won in 2022.

The withdrawal of the nomination came after Clarke created two social media videos.

Clarke explained he originally posted a video laughing at a girl who had openly admitted to cheating on her partner and contracting an STD (sexually transmitted disease).

“Now I thought that was pretty calm, I thought, you know, good job.

“Everyone else on there was roasting her harder than what I did, and I just laughed about it. The video went viral - she got quite upset about that because she got a lot of backlash.

“In the end, I ended up apologising for it because I was like ‘maybe it’s a bit far’. I apologised to her, and I 100% meant it.”

Clarke said this video controversy happened “just as the awards were coming into play”.

A month later, he posted another video. The skit saw Clarke putting on glasses where you couldn’t see where his eyes were looking. He then proceeded to look under his wife’s skirt.

“It was a stupid, stupid comedy skit. I got a message from the New Zealander of the Year people saying, ‘oh we’ve dropped you, we’re kicking you out of this’.”

Clarke claimed he asked organisers if they were aware of the types of videos he made at the start of the nomination process, and they replied they were.

“I’m a dark-humoured fella, I’ve got Tourette’s, I’m going to call you an N-word, a c*** or a bastard. I’m going to say s*** you don’t like. Might as well live it and own it,” he said.

According to the New Zealander of the Year website, the award recognises “those whose actions have had a significant and lasting impact in their communities”.

The nominations for the 2026 awards were announced in November, and according to the organisation, Clarke still received a Local Hero Medal for his contributions.

“We appreciate the positive contribution Leighton has made in reshaping conversations about disability, which led to him receiving a Local Hero Medal,” the organisation added.

Clarke told Letele while he was " a bit upset" about the situation, he had nothing bad to say about the organisation, adding people should “know who you’re getting into bed with”, and that ”things aren’t always what they seem behind the scenes”.

“And real talk, I don’t need a f****** medal to know I’ve done right by my community,” Clarke posted to Instagram after the video aired.

Plenty of commenters supported Clarke in the comments, calling him out for his genuine and authentic nature when dealing with the situation.

“Award or no award, you’re a legend,” one said.

“I’m not even from New Zealand but you are still my Local Hero,” said another.