An interview in which New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern was described as “attractive” and quizzed about her baby’s conception has been criticised as “sexist” and “creepy”.
She and partner Clarke Gayford, a television fishing presenter, sat down with Australian reporter Charles Wooley for news programme 60 Minutes.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
However, the broadcast on Sunday night rubbed many New Zealand viewers the wrong way. “Much of Wooley's profile was either devoted to the Ardern's impending arrival or fishing questions for ‘the first bloke’ Gayford,” says Stuff.co.nz.
“I’ve met a lot of prime ministers in my time,” Wooley said at one point. “But none so young, not too many so smart, and never one so attractive.”
Questions like “How did a nice person like you get into the sordid world of politics?” were widely criticised online as condescending and sexist.
At times Ardern and Gayford appeared “visibly uncomfortable”, says Stuff.co.nz - and no more so than when Wooley quizzed the couple on their due date before musing: “Why shouldn’t a child be conceived during an election campaign?”
Ardern then “appeared to roll her eyes”, says The Guardian, before clarifying that the election was “done” before she became pregnant, adding: “Not that we need to get into those details.”
Many viewers were equally turned off by the invasive line of questioning:
However, Wooley defended the personal nature of questions on the grounds that the Labour leader’s policy programme “wasn't what Australian viewers were interested in”. He told the New Zealand Herald that the blowback amounted to “Orwellian” thought policing.
Addressing the backlash today, Ardern admitted that being asked about her conception date “threw me a little bit”, but said she had already faced similar questions from the New Zealand press. “It would be going a bit far to say I was somehow offended by it,” she added.
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across SyriaTHE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weaponsThe Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarrayIn the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
