Polly Gillespie slammed for racial 'darky' slur on Naz

Veteran radio host Polly Gillespie has been slammed for a racial slur against Iranian Nazanin Khanjani and labelling her "darky" in a column for the New Zealand Herald. / Scout and Instagram

Veteran broadcaster Polly Gillespie has been slammed after she inexplicably labelled The Bachelor's Nazanin Khanjani "darky" and a "long-nosed brunette" in an op-ed column for the national newspaper.

The Hits radio host made the comment in an article she penned in the NZ Herald  titled, 'Why I hate The Bachelor'. It appeared in the print and digital editions.

Gillespie, a mother of two, discussed Jordan Mauger and Fleur Verhoeven's highly publicised split and his rumoured relationship with Naz, the show's runner-up.

She wrote: "...blondie, Jordan, and darky's somehow newsworthy three way... wait wrong term... love triangle gone wrong."

The slur was later edited out by the NZ Herald online team, but only after social media backlash. / NZ Herald and Twitter

The abhorrent  racial slurs against Khanjani, who is of Iranian extraction, are despicable. Gillespie and the national newspaper must be held to account.

The paper quickly edited the piece, but only after social media backlash. No apology has been forthcoming. 

Gillespie should know better. Slurs against a 25-year-old young woman from an ethnic culture other than her own are reprehensible.

Polly, whose own relationship breakdown was the subject of tabloid fodder last year, was quickly slammed by social media users.

Rod Van Alphen wrote: "This is terrible", while comedian Alice Brine stated the slur was simply, "Not ok".

Another user tweeted: "Darky? I'd love a job where I could write without thinking, any vacancies?"
The offensive term was quickly edited out of the article by members of the NZ Herald online team, but a line referring to Naz as "a nasty long nosed brunette" remained.

Gillespie also took aim at Mauger, declaring: "[He] looks like a used car salesman for Audi". She insisted women "wouldn't look twice at [him]" in a nightclub.

Fans of the show also received a pointed jab. Gillespie invited them to "go and have a shower and wash all that BS off".

Gillespie isn't the first high-profile New Zealander to come under fire for the use of the term "darkie". In 2003, Paul Holmes called then-United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan a "cheeky darkie" on the radio.

Former All Black Andy Haden escaped being sacked as a Rugby World Cup Ambassador in 2010 after apologising for a "darkies" slur on Pacific Island rugby players.