Seven Sharp host under fire for tweet

Photo / Herald on Sunday

A tweet by Seven Sharp presenter Greg Boyed about a "chunky" woman he said pushed past him at Wellington airport yesterday sparked a flurry of negative reaction on twitter yesterday.

Boyed's Twitter message - "2 the chunky woman who just elbowed past me at wgtn airport, an 'excuse me' unlike all those double down burgers youre so fond of, is free" didn't appear to go down well with his followers.

The tweet happened to coincide with International Women's Day.

One respondent described it as "cruel, ridiculous fat-shaming".

Another, Chris Henry, tweeted: "Wow, Greg Boyed is absolutely nailing the vibe of International Woman's Day". And, Wendy Smith, tweeted: "Oh dear Greg Boyed /facepalm."

Rose Matafeo, a host of U Live on the TVNZ U channel, replied: "also don't call a woman chunky Boyed, it's so 1994".

TVNZ entertainment reporter Joanna Hunkin answered, in what appeared to be banter: "Were you even alive in 1994?? And if so, were you really cognisant enough to be aware of such gender descriptors?"

A statement from Seven Sharp executive producer Raewyn Rasch indicated the network viewed the tweet as thoughtless.

"If Greg had known that his every tweet was likely to be quoted in the Herald he would have put more thought into it," Mrs Rasch said. "Stand by for something more inspiring next time."

A spokeswoman from women's advocacy group Zonta Club, which along with the National Council of Women hosted Auckland mayor Len Brown at an event to mark yesterday's international women's day, said Boyed's tweet "didn't warrant a response".

However former TV3 journalist Kim Chisnall wasn't impressed. "Wow happy International Women's Day to you too!" she replied.

Another reply suggested the outburst may have been sparked by the under-fire show's poor ratings.

"It's probably just a post-ratings trauma thing. If they aren't watching you might as well insult them again," replied @CactusKate2.

Editor's Note: The original version of this story said the tweets had sparked a "spat" between Hunkin and Matafeo. It was banter.