Ads removed after racist rant
AUCKLAND: Radio station Magic Talk faces a sponsor backlash after broadcasting racist views during a talkback show.
A Magic Talk caller on Tuesday described Maori as ‘‘genetically predisposed to crime, alcohol and underperformance educationally’’ and ‘‘a stoneage people’’ in an offensive rant.
Magic Talk presenter John Banks (74), a former Auckland mayor and MP, failed to stop the caller, instead thanking the man for his call, saying ‘‘if their stoneage culture doesn’t change, these people will come through your bathroom window’’.
The exchange was posted on social media site TikTok, before spreading to other platforms.
By yesterday, outraged social media users were petitioning Magic Talk advertisers to pull their support for the station.
Telecommunications giant Vodafone and TradeMe responded by saying they would.
The backlash extended to New Zealand Cricket (NZC) — given Magic Talk holds the rights to broadcast Black Caps matches — which said it was ‘‘disgusted and appalled by an indefensibly racist’’ exchange.
NZC suggested it could walk away from that broadcast deal, saying ‘‘should strong action not be taken, NZC reserves its right to review its relationship with Magic Talk’’.
A third major sponsor, Kiwibank, said it was ‘‘removing our ads from the Magic Talk website and we’ll be talking directly with [station owner] MediaWorks on how they could better encourage a diverse and inclusive NZ’’.
After a 30year political career, including two stints as a cabinet minister, Mr Banks is well known in New Zealand for his rightwing views.
Mr Banks said he ‘‘was not racist’’ in an onair apology, adding his views ‘‘could have been misconstrued as racist’’.
Magic Talk announced later it had dumped him as a presenter, a position he held for the summer break.