Jevan Goulter acted as a spokesperson for Vision NZ. Photo / via video
Hannah Tamaki's sacked campaign manager has made an emotional apology to The Project's Kanoa Lloyd less than 24 hours after he launched a tirade of abuse against her.
Jevan Goulter, who acted as a spokesperson for Vision NZ, took to label Lloyd a "rancid rotton [sic] stuffed pig with blood pouring out of her eyes" and said she should "show NZ what voluntary euthanasia looks like".
The row stems from the Herald on Sunday revealing that Tamaki was tipped to appear on the next series of MediaWorks' Dancing With the Stars.
Lloyd said on The Project show she co-hosts last night that Tamaki should not be on the programme: "I love Dancing with the Stars, and I don't really think I want to see a homophobic paso doble or a xenophobic cha-cha," she said.
Now, Goulter, after being axed by Tamaki, has posted a video apologising to Lloyd for his "disgusting" words as well as attempting to mend his relationship with the Tamakis.
"I wanted to make an apology to Kanoa Lloyd from The Project," he said in an emotional video on Facebook. "I wanted to make an apology because I need to for the comments I made last night, which was totally unacceptable.
"It was downright disgusting really. I have no grounds to justify the things I said, whatsoever ...
"Kanoa, I'd like to genuinely apologise for the things I said because clearly there were things in there that much wider, deeper things in them that I was too careless to think about when I put my post up.
"They were certainly views that are not held by anybody I work with, associate with or even views that I hold myself. It goes to show what a poor choice I made when I decided to do that.
"To Kanoa, and to any of your friends and anybody else that I have offended or caused distressed or harm to ... I genuinely apologise."
Goulter also used his public statement to apologise to Hannah Tamaki, revealing he has since handed in his resignation following the vile outburst.
"I'm also sorry to Hannah Tamaki for those comments because they certainly are not comments reflected by her or the campaign she's running with Vision New Zealand.
"It has been put up there that I am a Destiny PR man. That's not correct. I never have been. To Destiny Church members I also apologise that I have been tagged in that.
"I have certainly acted out on my own and exercising a lack of judgement. It doesn't go far enough as what I said was downright bloody stupid.
"I have offered Hannah Tamaki my resignation, to which I believe she has accepted that."
Earlier, Hannah Tamaki, the leader of Vision New Zealand political party, said she was "appalled at the outburst" and had fired Goulter.
"I would never condone that disgusting language and behaviour," she said in a statement.
"I would also like to state clearly that Jevan Goulter is not, and never has been, a spokesman for Destiny Church."
Hannah Tamaki said that even though she believed Vision New Zealand, and herself had been "unfairly targeted by the media using questionable tactics and journalistic ethics, we in no way condone the language he used towards a woman and inferences made by Mr Goulter in his post".
Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki had tweeted that Kanoa and The Project should be "shut down".
Kanoa Lioyd.Fact check LGBTQ (your words) community dont have the highest risk of killing themselves..your own people Maori do..whom you criticized in the most vicious outburst(Face says it all) last https://t.co/VozqletQ4a nd Project should be Shut Down pic.twitter.com/gifvLZVfO7
MP Simeon Brown has gained the health portfolio from Dr Shane Reti, and Hamas has released its first three Israeli hostages as a ceasefire begins. Video / Mark Mitchell, AFP