Milk company Synlait is distancing itself from an employee being described as a "white supremacist" in a petition calling for his sacking.
Lee Williams is a podcaster and YouTuber who regularly uploads far-right material, and was reportedly visited by police in the wake of the Christchurch terror attacks.
Nearly 4000 people have signed a petition calling for Synlait to "review his contract".
"Lee has been responsible for disseminating extreme white supremacist material, and has consistently been reported for creating objectionable and racist media for his channel," it reads.
"More recently he has taken to directly attacking Maori MPs, Rawiri Waititi and Hon Willie Jackson, using blatantly racist rhetoric and is actively and deliberately stoking public fear in response to the He Puapua report."
Videos cited by Newshub backed this up, including putting on a fake 'Maori' accent to impersonate Waititi.
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Synlait told Newshub it was "deeply concerned" and "takes these matters very seriously", so was investigating.
"We are deeply concerned that someone has these views. Lee Williams' views are his own. These views are not shared or held by Synlait," a spokesperson said.
"Synlait espouses values such as diversity, inclusion and thriving communities," said the petition organisers, paraphrasing a Synlait document on sustainability. "This is entirely at odds with the violent rhetoric of their employee Lee Williams."
Byron Clark, a blogger and researcher into New Zealand's far-right, said in April Williams in 2020 was "beginning to be something of a minor celebrity on the right-wing fringe of New Zealand politics". His videos have been shared by the New Conservative Party, and he spoke at an anti-lockdown rally organised by conspiracy theory political party Advance NZ in September.
In a recent video, Williams said he was aware of the petition, and said New Zealand "is in a very, very steep decline", falsely claiming the petition aimed to have him "kicked out of New Zealand". It's believed Williams is UK-born.
"They want to destroy me because I'm saying, because I'm telling the truth... this is an absolute disgrace."
BusinessDesk reported Williams confirmed the investigation, saying "HR wants to see me today to discuss me bringing their reputation into dispute".
