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Summarised by Centrist
Two politicians from very different corners of public life are facing criticism after comments that should have stayed unsaid, or unposted.
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has apologised after referring to an RNZ staff member of Indian descent as “a Muslim terrorist” while arriving for a radio interview. Meanwhile, Green Party Māngere candidate Michel Mulipola has deleted a social media post making light of the assassination of US conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Brown said his remark was a “fumbled attempt at humour” and admitted: “I got this one wrong.”
The staff member had apologised for a delay, saying security was tight. Brown allegedly replied with a comment, “along the lines of ‘security can’t be very tight if we’re being escorted by a Muslim terrorist’.” He also reportedly commented on the man’s beard.
In a separate controversy, Mulipola was criticised by ACT after a now-deleted Instagram post joked about Kirk’s death, saying “Charlie Kirk died as he lived”, followed by an image captioned “talkin’ out the side of his neck”.
ACT MP Simon Court called the post “disgusting” and questioned whether it breached the Greens’ commitment to non-violence.
NZ First deputy Shane Jones also joined the apology queue, saying he owed Nicola Willis an apology after a comment apparently aimed at her weight loss, which Winston Peters called “unacceptable”.
Read more over at The NZ Herald and RNZ
