TV host condemned for Susan Boyle remark

WENN

A TV host has been criticised for his remarks about Susan Boyle.

The New Zealand Herald says that Paul Henry, who used to work for the BBC, was discussing the singer on New Zealand's TVOne's Breakfast.

He described Boyle as "retarded" and laughed when he read that she had been starved of oxygen at birth.

"If you look at her carefully, you can make it out," he added.

The Sunday Express claims that Henry's co-host Pippa Wetzell said: "That is not funny. That's awful. She's had such a tragic life, that woman."

IHC New Zealand, a charity for people with learning disabilities, has criticised Henry's comments and urged people to complain.

However, the Sunday News reports that Henry described the charity's campaign as "shameful" and added that he "didn't regret anything I say".

"I sometimes regret the lack of understanding or a sense of humour in others," he continued. "Sometimes you'll get crazy freaks who go on the internet and encourage people to be appalled. But where representatives of an organisation go out and do it, I think it is a very interesting situation."