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TV host says he sees nothing wrong with calling Susan Boyle retarded

Henry refuses to back down from offensive remark

By
ANTOINETTE KELLY
,
Irish Central.com

Published Sunday, November 29, 2009, 11:56 AM
Updated Sunday, November 29, 2009, 10:48 PM

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TV host says he sees nothing wrong with calling Susan Boyle retarded | Entertainment in Ireland and Around the World | IrishCentral




Read more: Paul Henry
Super trouper: Susan Boyle wows the crowds at the Rockefeller Center in New York
Super trouper: Susan Boyle wows the crowds at the Rockefeller Center in New York

A massive row has broken out in New Zealand after former BBC host Paul Henry called Susan Boyle "retarded".

Talking on his TV show this week Henry laughed as he described how the global superstar was "starved of oxygen" at birth and suffered an intellectual disability.

"Here's the really interesting revelation," he said, "she is in fact retarded ...

"And if you look at her carefully, you can make it out," he said.

His co-host Pippa Wetzell immediately blasted Henry on-air.

Wetzel told Henry: “That is not funny. That’s awful. She’s had such a tragic life that woman.”

Henry has since attempted to defend his comments, saying they were made in a light-hearted fashion.

He said he had done nothing wrong and that it was okay to use the word retarded in relation to  people with intellectual disabilities.

"The remarks I made were specifically with regard to Susan Boyle and they were light-hearted," he said.

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TV host says he sees nothing wrong with calling Susan Boyle retarded | Entertainment in Ireland and Around the World | IrishCentral


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Posted by cabrinnik on Dec 18, 2009, 05:31 PM EST
There is only one person with the intellectual disability here and it is Paul Henry.
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Posted by NanCeeBee on Dec 06, 2009, 11:39 AM EST
Sorry, it was another post where there was some 'Brit' bashing. But it has been going on since Susan's audition, and I wish people would stop showing their own ignorance by doing so. I don't know if this guy is a New Zealander or British. I thought since it was BBC, he was British. So I shut my mouth before you all do it for me, ok?
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Posted by NanCeeBee on Dec 06, 2009, 10:59 AM EST
Just because one Britain on BBC is retarded is no reason to generalize to all 'Brits'. I am an American and am ashamed at the bashing of the British since the Susan Boyle phenomenon. It is uncalled for, regardless of anything one or any of them say or do --there are idiots in every country, and the fact that we know of one that is British is irrelevant. We should feel sorry for him, because he aired his ignorance and now everyone knows. Have some pity for the real retard here, and pray for him folks. Maybe he will glean some small amount of intelligence before he next opens his mouth. One can hope, even for what seems impossible.
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Posted by margemcclory on Dec 05, 2009, 10:54 PM EST
I think that Henry's remark about Susan was unnecessary & uncalled for, just to make news. If I was a listener I wouldn't listen to him any more.
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Posted by proud2beokie on Dec 05, 2009, 12:15 AM EST
It's a shame in this day and age that there are still people like this henry man who thinks it's "light-hearted" to speak about someone as he did about Susan. I had never heard of him and hope to never hear of him again. I'll be listening to music from Susan Boyle for years to come!
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Posted by kickstar on Dec 03, 2009, 09:48 AM EST
And here is the latest utterances from TVNZ Boyle, 48, a frumpy Scottish singer who became an international YouTube phenomenon after appearing on TV show Britain's Got Talent, also topped the British album charts earlier this week. http://tvnz.co.nz/entertainment-news/susan-boyle-makes-smash-debut-in-us-3223217






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