An author in New Zealand has had her book pulled from shelves after she called the facial tattoos of the country’s new foreign affairs minister uncivilised.
On Monday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern appointed Nanaia Mahuta to the role of Foreign Affairs Minister. She is the first woman to hold the position and second of Māori heritage, after Winston Peters.
Mahuta was also the first Government Minister to wear a moko kauae – a traditional facial tattoo worn by Māori women – while serving parliament.
After her appointment, author Olivia Pierson, who wrote the 2016 novel Western Values Defended: A Primer, attacked Mahuta’s facial tattoo.
“Facial tattoos are not exactly a polished, civilised presentation for a foreign diplomat in the 21st century,” Pierson tweeted.
“FFS [for fucks sake]! Jacinda has gone full wokelette on stilts.”
Really? The face of NZ’s new Foreign Minister? Facial tattoos are not exactly a polished, civilised presentation for a foreign diplomat in the 21st Century. Ffs! Jacinda has gone full wokelette on stilts. https://t.co/jpCqrHEqal
— Olivia Pierson (@PiersonOlivia) November 2, 2020
Yiiiikkkeeeeessss.
The backlash was swift, to say the least. Pierson was absolutely ratio’d on Twitter with 200 likes and over 1,200 replies.
One user, who changed their Twitter username to “wokeletteonstilts” tagged online store, Mighty Ape, who stocked Pierson’s novel.
“Could you please consider removing it considering she advocates for racism in our beautiful Aotearoa?” they tweeted.
Aotearoa is the Māori name for New Zealand.
The online store replied, tweeting that it had made the book unavailable and would not stock it again.
@praneshardanand @LeightonSauni @Rayna_Davis @fascismdad @TrinaAntonio_ @Goodixlady Tēnā koutou e hoa mā. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We have made the book unavailable and will not be making it available again. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou.
— Mighty Ape NZ (@MightyApe) November 2, 2020
Pierson, who recently tweeted that Donald Trump is “God Emperor”, told Stuff that Mighty Ape only took action because “woke culture seeks to cancel everything it feels offended by.”
She also stood by her original tweet, saying she thinks facial tattoos are “ugly and off-putting on anybody, White, Brown, or Black.”
Again, yikes.
Speaking to reporters after the appointment, Mahuta called her new role a “huge privilege.”
“I follow in the line of a long legacy of firsts for women,” she said, “And I hope that many other women of Māori descent, mixed descent, across New Zealand will see this as lifting the ceiling once again on areas that have been very much closed to us in terms of professional opportunities.”
“I follow in the line of a long legacy of firsts for women.”#ICYMI One of the biggest winners of today’s Cabinet announcement is Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta – not only the first woman, but also the first Māori woman, to ever hold the role.
🔗 https://t.co/AFgNC9P2Gh pic.twitter.com/NcSAvAFcwM
— RNZ (@radionz) November 2, 2020
