Why does TVNZ allow Henry's vile behaviour?
BY LINLEY BONIFACE
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OPINION: In the current era of public sector cutbacks, it must be enormously reassuring to TVNZ to know that, should further staff redundancies be necessary, it could seamlessly replace its current Breakfast host with a freshly captured gibbon without significantly lowering the quality of its journalism.
Indeed, watching a jungle creature let loose on the set of Breakfast would give viewers roughly the same frisson of appalled fascination that many of us already experience while watching Paul Henry in action. Will the set be trashed? Will there be humping of the furniture? Will guests have their hair lovingly combed through for nits, or be spat at?
There are certain groups that are pretty much assured a hostile reception on our state broadcaster's flagship morning news show. Retards, for example. Henry doesn't much like them. They look funny, and deserve to be laughed at. Apparently, some of them object to being called retards: this is outrageous, and an infringement of Henry's right to free speech. And the right to free speech is so much more important than the right of vulnerable people not to be treated with contempt.
Women. There's another group of people Henry has little respect for. They can't drive boats, for a start. They have "no grasp of technology". And some of them grow moustaches, which automatically disqualifies them from the right to express a view on something serious, even if they have in fact been invited on the show to express a view on something serious. In future, perhaps, women should be required to submit a photo to the Breakfast producers to prove they're sufficiently attractive to be permitted to have an opinion.
Poor people. They're rubbish as well. Especially poor people who have so many children that, when one dies, they just say, "Don't worry about that; we've got six others out the back". Because everyone knows that poor people don't love their children like rich white guys love their children. (Henry knows all about this subject, which is why he expresses his love for his children by discussing his teenage daughter's desire for breast implants in Woman's Day.)
Fat kids, of course, are another matter entirely. They don't deserve to be loved by anyone. They should be "taken away from their parents and put in a car compactor".
The unemployed are also a waste of space. They don't watch Breakfast, because they're lazy and drunk. Hispanics aren't much better: they do actually have jobs, picking tomatoes, but are carriers of salmonella.
Most of these groups are far too unsavoury ever to be featured on Breakfast, so we don't have the added treat of watching their facial expressions as they listen to themselves being slagged off. The exception to this rule is women: after looking back through file footage, I've noticed several regulars have adopted the same physical tic – nervously riffling their fingers through their hair – in response to Henry's hilarious jokes about their foolishness in not having been born male.
Perhaps this gesture is a sort of "dork alert" secret signal to other women working in broadcasting. The message it sends is probably this: "If I don't laugh along with this odious joke, I will clearly be seen as a bitter, man-hating bitch who should be resting up at home after my recent humour bypass operation, but rest assured that I'm only doing it to avoid spending the rest of my working life advertising thigh-shaping devices on digital TV."
Paul Henry is talented, smart and funny. These are rare commodities, which is presumably why he has made it to the top at TVNZ despite his mesmerising Austin Powers comedy teeth. But instead of using his gifts to ask tough questions of those in power about the issues we'd like answers on, he uses them to mock the powerless. When I last looked, this wasn't called journalism: it was called bullying.
So why does TVNZ respond to complaints about Henry with either a wall of silence, or an amused smirk? I suspect its attitude was best summed up by Alison Mau, Henry's former co-host, on the day of the infamous moustache-on-a-lady riff. "We need people to watch the television that we're making, for good or ill, and I think, you know, even though you have been quite vile this morning, it's – you know – it makes good telly."
Vile Comments Make Good Telly: now there's a corporate motto TVNZ can be proud of.
- © Fairfax NZ News
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Well, I would guess that this whole PH fiasco reflects pretty well on the intelligence of the government too. Our Prime Minister hold the toursim portfolio; yet, the government allows its own boradcaster to air views that many international tourists would find really offensive. This whole story as well as the comments by a very large number of idiotic Kiwis is available for reading by anyone in the whole world with internet access. Talking about cutting of your nose to spite your face...
What a joke. Paul is hilarious, he only says what everyone else is thinking and saying to their friends! I think he was only ridiculing the fact that every week Boyles people seem to spin up something else to prompt more record sales, first she was the ugly duckling, then the makeover, then the breakdown, and now shes beaten by teachers and mentally disabled? come on it is all a bit amazing.
Paul Henry in hilarious. He's the most entertaining person on TV and I'm a big supporter. Its a breakfast show for gods sake not the 6 o'clock news, if you're the kind of person who takes everything a little too seriously and you want to watch something that couldn't possibly offend then maybe you should stick to the ASB Sharemarket Watch. Enjoy your boring, mundane lives haters!
Coming from the land of the BBC, The Times, Financial Times and The Daily Telegraph after 18 years, I have to say that the only quality programming in news and current affairs in NZ is found on Radio New Zealand.
I never waste my time watching the TV news here - it's infantile rubbish for the most part. The newspapers devote more time to cats up trees and selling houses than they do actual news - witness the average "world" section running to about 4 pages.
There are far too many journos and N/CA programs for a country that is as small as this. TBH, you could do NZ news on a weekly basis with just 10 minute headlines on the other 6 days.
Anyone with access to BBC World, Sky News and CNN has no need of 90% of the papers, TV programs and so on that we are offered.
Radio NZ is an honourable exception and still offers excellent journalism and actual news.
Why are people calling him a redneck? He lives in NZ, and is well off. Hardly a redneck.
Anyway, while some of what he says is crude, he is speaking his own mind, which is a refreshing change from the mundane talk shows on TV these days.
My 2c.
Teh article labels Paul Henry as "talented, smart, funny" - surely this is a typo. One of the only ever good talented, smart and funny TV personalities are Flight of the Conchords - which was turned down by TVNZ and so they had to go to another Country to get a gig. That's the TVNZ talented, smart and funny management that select talent for their shows.
Who cares? If you don't like it don't watch it.
Paul Henry's behaviour is the new PC. Those who love him show themselves to be sheep without brains. Reading their comments is good for a laugh.
As the brother of someone with an intellectual disability I am personally insulted by Mr Henry’s actions. My sister has often been the butt of jokes by stupid and uncaring individuals like Paul Henry, and like Susan Boyle has suffered bullying and physical abuse many times. In some instances we, her family, have had to watch helplessly as my sister has struggled with emotional and psychological aftereffects of the abuse she has suffered, unable to understand the details or the extent of the abuse, and unable identify the culprits due to the very disability that these lowlifes have chosen as a reason to victimise her. The lives of people with intellectual disability are difficult enough even with the widespread support and acceptance they now enjoy in our communities, and the issue of physical and/or sexual abuse of people who are vulnerable and often have difficulty communicating about such abuse is no laughing matter. Paul Henry , you are a disgrace to your employer, to your family name and to our country. Shame on you. You owe me and my sister and our family and all people with intellectual disabilities, and your family, and your employer and our NATION an apology. My thanks to Pippa Wetzell for having the decency to oppose Mr Henry’s idiotic outburst. Despite showing implicit support by laughing along with him, she did at least express disagreement and opposition to his behaviour and that is to be applauded. I hope TVNZ will show better mettle in taking the strongest possible action against Mr Henry for his disgraceful conduct. I don't expect they will however, because like many other people who wouldn't waste their time with TVNZ normally, I did visit their website because of this thus increasing the ratings for this awful man. So he has served their purpose. GREAT article Linley - Thank You!
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Come on NZ, PH is so out of touch with his current approach to delivering any kind of news. He simply doesn't have the ability to deliver subjects in an articulate or witty manner so he resorts to the kind of verbal most school playgrounds would describe as basic... He's only known for being infantile and rude... is he proud of that... we shouldn't be!