Sky News host calls out Six60 for te reo on poster, band hits back

Poster in te reo is against free speech, Sky News host says. Photo / Supplied

Six60 has hit out at a Sky News presenter who highlighted the band’s use of te reo Māori in tour posters.

Australian broadcaster Rowan Dean said on Sky News that in New Zealand "there's been a big push to be more inclusive of the Māori, the Māori language, the so-called 'iwi' at the moment".

Poster in te reo is against free speech, Sky News host says. Photo / Supplied

Dean said a lot of "new language" was coming in, before showing a poster he claimed was sent to him by pop group "Sixty Sixty...or whatever".

"It's all in Māori, there's not a word of English anywhere in there," he said.

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On Instagram, the band posted footage of Dean's show saying "Some guy had this to say about our tour poster and his free speech".

"We got called out for putting te reo on our poster, saying it's against free speech," the band said.

"Six60 is all about bringing people together, no matter the language."

Six60 concert at McLean Park in Napier on November 5, 2022. Photo / Paul Taylor

In the post, Six60 showed clips of the band showcasing Māori performers and haka in front of thousands of people from their past concerts.

The band then went on to say: "Free tickets to this guy if he wants to experience some positivity".

They signed off with "Much love, Sixty 60 or whatever".

The post garnered hundreds of positive responses from fans and other Kiwi celebrities supporting Six60's message.

"Way to call this out, dude needs a history lesson on Aotearoa," New Zealand footballer Hannah Wilkinson replied.

"So rude and disrespectful. Keep being six60 and celebrating NZ and our culture," one fan wrote.

"He's clearly got no idea. Crank it louder boys, drown that negative s*** out. Keep doing what you're doing," another fan wrote.

Six60 is on its nationwide Castle St tour - the poster, it said, was created with a “summer twist” by cartoonist Toby Morris.