An Auckland radio host claims he received criticism from a prominent Māori actor over his pronunciation on the radio.
Astley Nathan, who hosts the breakfast show on Flava, said in a Facebook post he had been told his pronunciation made the actor "sick".
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But it's not stopping him.
"I've got a thick skin and brushed it off like whatever, but it's people who say things like this that make people apprehensive to even try.
"You'd think people who have the privilege of being able to speak our language would be encouraging people to speak, not tearing them down."
More than 300 people reacted to the post and 56 commented, many of them supporting Nathan.
"I think it's awesome that there's a swell of people learning. Of course, sometimes we'll pronounce things wrong, at least we're not scared to try!" one person wrote.
"Keep doing you and if you've got haters, it means you're doing something right," another said.
Nathan declined to comment to Newshub.
Newshub.
