Controversy
Holmes has often gained media attention for a range of controversial remarks about prominent individuals and issues, including a comment made in 2003 about wahi tapu (Māori sacred places).
In 2001, the Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled against Holmes for lack of balance and journalistic integrity in a series of news stories covering a campaign dubbed 'A Generation Lost?' The campaign, led by Auckland-based marketer Richard Poole, blamed the then Helen Clark-led Government for a brain-drain of 'young New Zealanders', a key political issue at the time. The campaign was later exposed as politically motivated and financially backed by the New Zealand Business Roundtable, which Holmes was reputed to have known about but did not disclose.
In September 2003, he repeatedly referred to then-United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan as a "cheeky darkie" during a rant on his radio show, as well as using "darkie" to refer to black people generally. There was an international outcry following the comments, but Holmes kept his job after making several emotional apologies, claiming he had been "tired". However the major sponsor of his TV show, Mitsubishi Motors, withdrew its support.
In March 2004, he called the then-Israeli Prime Minister the "butcher Sharon." Later that year he described Tariana Turia as a "confused bag of lard", "a bully" who "folded under pressure" and who did not have the "guts to vote", as being "all mouth and no trousers, all talk and no walk" and a "complete fool".
In November 2010, TVNZ announced it would investigate official complaints regarding Holmes' performance on the current affairs show Q&A during an interview with various players in the Hobbit film project controversy.
In February 2012, Holmes wrote an opinion piece for The New Zealand Herald strongly criticizing Waitangi Day and Māori people. He labels Waitangi Day as "...loony Maori fringe self-denial day" and describes a "...hopeless failure of Maori to educate their children and stop them bashing their babies." The piece resulted in a number of formal complaints.
Read more about this topic: Paul Holmes (broadcaster)
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