A "deeply disturbing" cartoon promoting Radio Hauraki's 'Rocktober' campaign has prompted outrage over its jokes about sexual harassment, mental illness and abuse.
The clip, which included gags about Kurt Cobain's suicide and Marilyn Manson's alleged sexual abuse, was dubbed a "slap in the face" to victims and survivors by whistleblowing Instagram account Beneath The Glass Ceiling NZ - particularly amid the ongoing revelations about misconduct, misogyny and harassment within Aotearoa's music and radio industries.
A spokesperson for NZME, which owns Radio Hauraki, has apologised for any offence caused by the "inappropriate" video. They say the company is "disappointed" it was posted, claiming "approval processes were not followed".
Animated versions of Hauraki hosts Jeremy Wells and Matt Heath were depicted in the clip and were voiced by the broadcasters. The pair appeared to take an LSD-like substance before being transported to the 'Rocktober-verse', in which rock music's "biggest face-melting moments live on in eternal glory".
"So we could see Kurt Cobain blow his brains out?" Heath's character asked, as a version of Cobain imagined in the style of Nirvana's Nevermind album cover appeared on screen before a gunshot is heard.
"Or we could see Jim Morrison flop his c**k out on stage," Wells' character replied.
"We could have a four-way with Bowie and Jagger," Heath added, while the two rock legends were depicted having sex on a car.
"Or we could watch Marilyn Manson suck his own... nah, Marilyn Manson's cancelled," the pair said.
Heath and Wells are then transported to a superyacht where they observe a depiction of Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson's infamous sex tape.
"I give you the epitome of Rock n' Roll, Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson blasting on a big arse boat," Heath's character declares, as the two watch on.
"I think I've seen this video," Wells' character says, before joining Anderson and Lee's characters in a hot tub and engaging in a sex act with Anderson.
Beneath The Glass Ceiling NZ blasted NZME, which owns Radio Hauraki over the video - alleging that many people would have needed to sign off on it.
"After the months of hard work by many in the music industry to bring about change and remove the toxicity from our industry, Radio Hauraki chose to commission an animation making light of mental illness, sexual assault, sexual harassment and abuse," a statement on BTGC's Instagram story read.
"While it may have been pulled relatively quickly, the ad itself would have had to go through many at NZME to be approved and paid for.
"This is a slap in the face to the many victim-survivors who have spoken out and to all of us at BTGC.
"This ad highlights the deep level of misogyny at the heart of our industry and in particular within this genre of music."
At the time of BTCG's post, the video remained active on the Instagram page of Tom Harper - a producer at the radio station and the animator behind the clip.
"I had a blast making it and hope it will be the first of many! TRIGGER WARNING: This video contains silliness and is not safe for children," Harper captioned the clip in a since-deleted post.
Harper went on to apologise for the clip, claiming it was not "comissioned nor was it seen by a wide team before release".
"If anyone reads this that was hurt by the cartoon I am extremely sorry," he added.
Furious followers of BTGC shared their outrage over the cartoon in messages shared to the Instagram page.
"Note the Kurt Cobain reference literally a week after Mental Health Awareness week," one person wrote.
"It's disgusting. I can't believe not one person raised any concern," said another.
"So many parts of it are revolting," a third offered. "The toxic culture is so visible here," they added, suggesting NZME should undergo an independent enquiry into workplace culture similar to the one rival network MediaWorks underwent earlier this year.
