Paul Henry (broadcaster)
Other notable Today FM staff included Hilary Pankhurst, Georgina Beyer, local identity Rick Long, and former 2ZD station manager John Shearer.[citation needed] Henry went on to be a foreign correspondent and weekend talkback host for Radio Pacific, later presenting breakfast programme The Morning Grill with Arch Tambakis, then Pam Corkery.[12] In October 2010, Henry was forced to apologise[13] and later resigned from TVNZ after controversy over his pronunciation and ridicule of the name of Indian politician Sheila Dikshit, as well as comments made about the then-Governor-General of New Zealand, Sir Anand Satyanand.[14][15][16] In an interview the following month, Henry claimed that TVNZ, in particular chief executive Rick Ellis, had "capitalised" on him by encouraging him to be controversial on-air, adding that he believed it was wrong for the New Zealand Government to apologise to India for his remarks.[17] On 1 April 2011, MediaWorks New Zealand announced Henry would return to Radio Live in July, replacing Maggie Barry as the host of the station's drivetime show, a position he had held four years previously.[24] As in New Zealand, Henry's on-air comments caused controversy: in May 2012 he suggested asylum seekers could stay in people's linen cupboards, and implied they were "dirty".[27] A newspaper reported other staff at the network resented Henry, claiming many wouldn't look at him when he walked in the room, and were planning to boycott the Christmas party.[31] In 2016, Henry departed Mediaworks and announced he would be entering a period of "semi-retirement", splitting his time between New Zealand and the United States, and producing wine.[44] In March 2009, Henry caused offence by pointing out the facial hair of female guest anti-nuclear campaigner and Greenpeace worker Stephanie Mills.[47] In October 2010, Henry was again the subject of complaints after a live broadcast in which he asked Prime Minister John Key whether the Governor-General, Sir Anand Satyanand, was "even a New Zealander".In an interview with Sunrise, Henry claimed people in India also find the name humorous and that he thinks the "biggest insult" is deliberately mispronouncing someone's name just because it sounds funny.[52] New Zealand Indian Central Association president Paul Singh Bains said the fact that TVNZ was still "promoting" the clip on its website showed it had "totally lost the plot" and was insensitive to the offence Henry had caused.[53] Henry's resignation polarised the New Zealand public, with supporters claiming he was a victim of political correctness, and critics accusing him of pandering to the lowest common denominator.[57] Henry caused further controversy on 27 August 2012 by suggesting on the programme that asylum seekers should "starve to death" following reports that they would be conducting a hunger strike over plans to shift them to Nauru.