BMW 'looking into' Sonny Bill complaints

Sonny Bill Williams BMW ambassador
Sonny Bill Williams after he was named BMW's ambassador.

BMW says Sonny Bill Williams is still one of its ambassadors despite the car manufacturer looking into complaints about his friendship with a Muslim extremist.

BMW customers as well as the LGBT and Jewish community were outraged when he was pictured with a controversial Muslim figure. 

Mufti Ismail Menk is a Muslim preacher known for his controversial views on gay and Jewish people. 

Zimbabwe-born Menk has described same-sex acts as, "filthy", "wrong" and "acts of immorality". 

He once said about homosexuals, "With all due respect to the animals, [homosexuals] are worse than those animals."

BMW New Zealand's head of corporate communications Paul Sherley told Newshub the company was looking into the complaints, but Williams will be "remaining as its ambassador".

"We take our customer complaints and comments seriously," he said.

Mr Sherley said there had not been a change to the original agreement, and could not confirm when a decision on any changes would be made.

Despite widespread publicity from BMW when Williams was appointed as ambassador in October 2016, there is no mention of him on the company's website. Critical comments about Williams have also been removed from BMW New Zealand's Facebook page, while those comments supporting him remain.

William's media advisor Khoder Nasser described the complaints as "malicious insinuations".

"By simply linking social media accounts that Sonny Bill Williams is in any way into hurtful or hateful agendas is way off the mark and he has proof in the pudding to this fact," Nasser told Newshub.

"To those people peddling those lies, we are looking at what we can do in regards to the law."

As part of the partnership, the All Black received his own BMW X5 vehicle worth $161,000.

Newshub.