Caption: Paul Henry described singer Susan Boyle as 'retarded'. Photo / AP
TVNZ has been ordered to broadcast a live statement for Paul Henry's remarks describing singer Susan Boyle as "retarded".
The broadcaster has one month to read an agreed summary of a decision against it by the Broadcasting Standards Authority, which yesterday released a finding that TVNZ took insufficient action when
it received complaints about Henry's outburst.
Last November 23 the host of Breakfast on TV One said Boyle "was starved of oxygen and suffered a mild form of intellectual disability". Holding up a photo, Henry added, "If you look carefully you can make it out, can't you?"
After a negative reaction at the time, Henry made a public statement that he never intended to offend people with disabilities and had a great deal of respect for those who rose to the challenges imposed on them in life.
However, 11 people were dissatisfied with this and referred their complaints to the authority.
The authority agreed that TVNZ was correct to uphold complaints that Henry's comments breached the good taste and decency standard, but found that the action taken by the broadcaster was insufficient.
The authority also found in a majority decision that the comments breached the broadcasting standard relating to discrimination and denigration.
TVNZ spokeswoman Megan Richards said the broadcaster would talk to the authority to "get sign-off on the appropriate wording" of what would be read out.
"It will go to air within the next month."
Authority chief executive Dominic Sheehan said it would be read on a Monday directly before or after the "what's in the mags" segment, which was where the original comments were made.
"It's up to the broadcaster as to who does it and how they do it. What we expect is in the decision so we're not expecting Henry to write it. That's not in the decision."
Mr Sheehan said Henry was "the subject of a lot of complaints" but he could not say if he was the most complained about broadcaster because he was being compared with veterans who had been in the trade longer.
"Certainly for the last few years I can say without a doubt he would be our most complained about individual."
But Mr Sheehan said very few of the complaints had been upheld.
"This is actually one of the first. Michael Laws is definitely, in the last couple of years, the person who's had the most BSA decisions go against him."
- additional reporting Beck Vass
