Comedian Mike King says Sir Bob Jones' "social filter is broken" but he doesn't support a petition to strip the businessman and former politician of his knighthood after he wrote that a Maori Gratitude Day should be introduced in place of Waitangi Day.

In an opinion piece in the National Business Review, Sir Bob said that as there aren't any full-blooded Maori in existence if it hadn't been for migrants not a single Maori would exist today.

And he suggested a public holiday where Maori supply breakfast in bed and do other chores to show gratitude for their existence.

"We should introduce a new public holiday, Maori Gratitude Day, in place of the much disdained Waitangi Day," he wrote.

NBR removed the column, saying it was inappropriate.

But an online petition has now been launched to strip Sir Bob of his knighthood.

Mike King says he thinks having Sir Bob's knighthood revoked "is just going a little step too far".

"I don't think anyone should take seriously what Bob is saying. He's like that doddery old uncle whose social filter is now broken and he's saying out loud what most people would keep inside," King told 1 NEWS.

The column sparked a backlash online but King said: "I don't think anyone should be trolling him or giving him a hard time. What Bob really needs is our empathy and a warm bowl of custard."

For his part, Sir Bob is standing by his comments, saying he wrote a "perfectly factual thing" and maintained it's not racist.

He said "some things he said are undisputable" but some of what he'd said was a piss take and that he doesn't hate anyone.

He also said the petition is "infantile".