NZ leader Key labeled ‘schoolyard bully’
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New Zealand Prime Minister John Key yesterday publicly apologized to a waitress who labeled him a “schoolyard bully” for repeatedly pulling her ponytail on visits to her cafe.
As women’s groups expressed outrage, Key said he now realized his behavior was inappropriate but insisted he was merely “horsing around,” not acting maliciously.
“It was all in the context of a bit of banter that was going on,” he told TVNZ, saying he apologized and gave the woman two bottles of wine when he realized she had taken offense.
The unnamed Auckland waitress recounted her story in an anonymous column on left-wing website thedailyblog.co.nz, saying the conservative leader’s actions reduced her to tears.
Key tugged her hair on at least six separate occasions, even though she had clearly signaled her displeasure and once warned his security detail she would punch him if he continued, she said.
At one point, Key’s wife Bronagh told him “leave the poor girl alone,” the woman wrote, saying that the prime minister gave the impression “that he just didn’t care.”
“He was like the schoolyard bully tugging on the little girls’ hair trying to get a reaction, experiencing that feeling of power,” she said in the blog.
The waitress said Key eventually got the message and stopped tormenting her in late March, telling her he had not realized how upset she was at his behavior, which lasted for several months.
“Really?! That was almost more offensive than the harassment itself,” she wrote.
Key won a third term in office last year and enjoys 49 percent support in opinion polls even after seven years in power.
Quizzed on whether he had acted appropriately, the 53-year-old said he had visited the cafe for years and had a fun relationship with staff, including practical jokes.
“It’s a very warm, friendly relationship. In that context you’d say yes, but if you look at it now, no,” he said.
The row stirred a reaction online and trended on Twitter under the hashtag #ponytailgate, with most criticizing Key but some saying it would not affect his popularity ratings.
The National Women’s Council said it was difficult for a female cafe worker to stand up to the prime minister and Key had “crossed the line” with his unwanted touching.
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