In January 2017, a Māori resident of Waiheke Island posted a video on Facebook claiming that Leitch had racially abused her while she was on a wine tasting tour on the island. Leitch agreed that during the exchange he told her that Waiheke "is a white man's island also", but says his comments were misinterpreted and that it was merely banter. After initially saying that Leitch was the "least racist person I know", New Zealand Race Relations Commissioner Susan Devoy later condemned Leitch's comments as casual racism.