‘Never, that’s not a polite question to ask anyone’: Jacinda Ardern shuts down a TV presenter over his ‘gross’ question during an interview
- Jacinda Ardern put a TV presenter in his place when he asked if she had grey hair
- The NZ PM told AM Show host Ryan Bridge ‘that’s not a very polite question’
- Ms Ardern’s partner admitted he did a home dye job in a post on Twitter
Jacinda Ardern has shut down a TV presenter over an inappropriate comment during a live interview.
The New Zealand Prime Minister was left red-faced on ‘The AM Show’ after host Ryan Bridge asked why she was dying her hair.
Mr Bridge asked Ms Ardern if she was trying to cover up greys in the embarrassing blunder on Monday morning.
‘Why are you dyeing it anyway? Is it going grey or something?’ Mr Bridge said.
Jacinda Ardern (pictured) has shut down a TV presenter over an inappropriate comment during a live interview
Ms Ardern laughed uncomfortably before reprimanding the host for intruding on her personal life.
‘Never… never… never… that’s not a polite question to ask anyone – I was about to say a lady – but anyone, actually,’ she said.
After a brief silence she confirmed it was a ‘little touch-up,’ with a smile on her face.
The host tried to backpedal by giving her a compliment and justified asking the question because her high profile job would be likely to cause stress.
‘Looks good, Prime Minister. And I only mention the grey hair because you are the prime minister and it does tend to age people. No harm intended, alright?’
Ms Ardern agreed, but remained visibly uncomfortable as she smiled through the rest of the interview.
‘No, it does, it does, I fully acknowledge that. Yep. Thank you for the reminder,’ she said.
The New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (pictured) was left red-faced on ‘The AM Show’ after host Ryan Bridge asked why she was dying her hair
The interview has divided the general public.
Some felt the line of questioning was ‘rude’ and ‘disrespectful’ and slammed the presenter for trying to generate controversy.
‘It was a bit gross and personally intrusive. Mostly I just found it weird. Is this a normal behavior from this guy or was it just because he was interviewing the PM and wanted the segment and himself to be memorable,’ one woman wrote.
‘No respect and if this was a male Prime Minister he would not behave like this. Absolutely dreadful and extremely distasteful questioning,’ another said.
Others felt Ms Ardern’s response was ‘precious’ and it was an acceptable question because her husband had shared the personal information on social media.
Mr Bridge asked his Ardern if she was trying to cover up greys in the embarassing blunder on Monday morning
The comment was made after a tweet by Ms Ardern’s husband Clark Gayford advising he had helped with a home beauty treatment overnight.
‘Helped dye partners hair and gave daughter a haircut with scissors I bought at supermarket for $6. Remarkably both parties still talking to me,’ he wrote.
New Zealand’s leader has been forced to navigate awkward interviews in the past, including one with 60 Minutes reporter Charles Wooley in February 2018.
Mr Wooley was slammed online for comments about Ms Ardern which were described by viewers as ‘patronising’ and ‘repugnant’.
The comment was made after a tweet by Ms Ardern’s husband Clark Gayford advising he had helped with a home beauty treatment overnight
Ms Ardern (pictured) isn’t the first female leader to face embarassing questioning from the media
‘I’ve met a lot of Prime Ministers in my time, but none too young and not so many so smart, and never one so attractive,’ the host said during the on-air chat.
Ms Ardern isn’t the first female leader to face embarrassing questioning from the media.
Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard made international headlines in 2013 when 6PR Radio host Howard Sattler asked Ms Gillard is her hairdresser husband was gay.
Sattler said his question was based off ‘myths’ and ‘rumours’ circling the country’s first female leader but continued the line of questioning despite Ms Gillard’s obvious discomfort.
Sattler asked Ms Gillard to ‘confirm that he’s not gay’ and asked if the two were in a in a heterosexual relationship.’
The journalist was promptly sacked after the 2013 interview after 28 years working for the Perth radio station.
Ms Gillard said these types of interviews could be seen as a deterrant for young women considering entering into the public sector.
Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard made international headlines in 2013 when 6PR Radio host Howard Sattler asked Ms Gillard is her hairdresser husband was gay