Isaac Butterfield, a comedian known for sticking it to NZ is looking to sell the country - but there's a catch. Photo / YouTube
Isaac Butterfield, a comedian known for sticking it to NZ is looking to sell the country - but there's a catch. Photo / YouTube
An Australian comedian has launched a Gofundme campaign to "sell New Zealand" after eBay shut down his auction for the country on the website.
Isaac Butterfield, a comedian with more than one million followers on YouTube, has previously made headlines when he was banned from Facebook for making fun of New Zealand.
In 2018, the comedian posted a video response to a video by Kiwi Jordan Watson of How to Dad fame. The response was considered "racist" by Facebook and saw him banned from the social network.
Photo / Gofundme
On the Gofundme campaign, which he launched a few hours ago, he says "New Zealand has gone too far".
"We must stop them. It's time to stop them," he adds.
He told the Herald he wants to use his massive subscriber numbers and the power that comes with that "for good rather than evil, for once".
"I have had a long and sometimes volatile relationship with NZ, I even went on The Project to defend myself after being banned from Facebook for making fun of NZ. But the people forgave me and came out in droves to my tour of the country only a month ago," he said.
All funds raised in this "sale of New Zealand" will go to two charities Butterfield has selected.
"The two charities I picked mean a lot to me. Swiss8 is raising funds to further help veterans who return from war with mental health issues they may encounter and GAP - Greyhounds as Pets finds homes for retired racers," he explained.
"My dog Rosie who has 15,000 followers on Instagram because she is a big deal came from GAP and she is the most amazing creature I've ever met. GAP does wonderful things and I thought it's time to give back."
Butterfield says he did not know his Ebay auction would be taken down but suspected someone reported it after he raised $50,000 in just over two hours.
He is planning to release a video on Monday explaining how this fundraising will go and how he expects the world to benefit from the sale of New Zealand.
