Ali Mau with her fiancee and friends at a Gay Auckland Business Association auction Ali Mau is leaving Seven Sharp and will be the new co-host of Radio Live's afternoon talk show, replacing homophobic broadcaster John Tamihere. The journalist and TV host tweeted this afternoon that Friday will be her last day at Seven Sharp. “Exciting! Sad! But exciting!” she says. Radio Live quickly announced, also first via Twitter, that she would be joining Willie Jackson in hosting its afternoon talk show. She will replace John Tamihere, who has a long history of nasty anti-gay tirades. While GayNZ.com is not aware that he was ever censured for his homophobic rants, he and Jackson have both been off air following the public furore over their treatment of a young woman discussing the Roast Busters case. Identifying as bisexual, Mau has been engaged to partner Karleen Edmonds since February 2012 and is outspoken on glbti issues. She has also been supportive of the glbti community, hosting the Gay Auckland Business Association charity auction and acting as a judge at Queen of the Whole Universe. General Manager of Talk Brands for MediaWorks Radio Jana Rangooni says Mau is a fantastic addition to Radio Live. “Ali is a hugely talented broadcaster. She’s smart, has strong opinions, a great sense of humour and the dynamic between her and Willie will create great talk radio.” Gay presenter Tamati Coffey's short run at Seven Sharp is also apparently over. He had been tipped to permanently replace the already-departed Greg Boyed, however Mike Hosking and Toni Street have been announced as the TV One show’s new hosts, alongside the remaining original host Jesse Mulligan.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 17th December 2013 - 6:43pm