New Zealand is racist, says 'Thor: Ragnarok' director Taika Waititi

Mumbai: Acclaimed film director Taika Waititi has accused his home country of New Zealand as a racist country.

"It is the best place on the planet, but it's a racist place," the 'Thor: Ragnarok' director told a magazine, as reported by The Guardian.

"People just flat-out refuse to pronounce Maori names properly."

Waititi, who lives in Los Angeles with his family, added that people in Auckland in particular are "very patronizing" for praising how well he has done "for one of his people".

"There's still profiling when it comes to Polynesians. It's not even a colour thing - like, 'Oh, there's a black person.' It's, 'If you're Poly then you're getting profiled.'"

Waititi, last year, fronted a campaign for New Zealand Human Rights Commission, helming a video against racism.

"Racism needs your help to survive," he said in the video. You may not be in a position to give much to racism, but whatever you feel comfortable giving will make a huge difference."