Uproar Over Dikshit Comments Leads TV Host to Resign

You actually pronounce it 'Dixit'
New Zealand TV Host Resigns Over 'Dikshit' Comment
Chief Minister of Delhi and Congress party leader Sheila Dikshit, left, talks to party President Sonia Gandhi, right, during an election rally in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, April 29, 2009.   (AP Photo/Saurabh Das)

Paul Henry, the host of a New Zealand morning talk show, has resigned following international outrage over his comments mocking the name of Delhi's Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. Henry made fun of and mispronounced her name (the correct English pronunciation is "Dixit"), laughing at his vulgar-sounding mispronunciation, which led Indian officials to condemn his remarks as "racist and bigoted."

"I am astonished and dismayed that my comments have created a diplomatic incident," Henry said. "My style is conversational and of course unscripted. I walk the finest of lines and accept that I have inadvertently crossed it from time to time." New Zealand's government apologized to India for the remarks, calling them "culturally insensitive and vulgar." Henry has a reputation for controversy: He once accused a female Greenpeace member of having a mustache, among other gaffes. Read the full article. (More Sheila Dikshit stories.)

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