A TV presenter with a traditional Māori face tattoo has calmly replied to negative comments from a viewer, proudly standing up for her cultural heritage and identity.
Facial tattoos often spark debates online. Some people think tattoos should only be on the body, while others understand and appreciate their cultural importance.
Oriini Kaipara, 41, made history when she became a newsreader for New Zealand’s Newshub. She is the first primetime TV news presenter to wear a moko kauae, a special facial tattoo for Māori women.
The Māori are the indigenous people of mainland New Zealand. They see moko kauae as important symbols of their heritage and identity. These tattoos, traditionally on the lips and chin, show a woman’s family ties, leadership, and honor her lineage, status, and abilities.
Oriini Kaipara. Credit: Oriini Kaipara / Instagram.
Despite receiving praise, one viewer named David expressed his dislike for Kaipara’s moko kauae in an email to Newshub.
He wrote, “We continue to object strongly to you using a Māori newsreader with a moku [moko] which is offensive and aggressive looking. A bad look. She also bursts into the Māori language which we do not understand. Stop it now,” according to the Daily Mail.
But Kaipara didn’t let David’s negative words stop her. She bravely shared screenshots of his messages on her Instagram story and responded calmly.
“Today I had enough. I responded. I never do that. I broke my own code and hit the send button,” she wrote on her Instagram story alongside a screenshot of David’s message.
Kaipara didn’t just share screenshots of David’s email, she also responded to him. She explained that his complaint wasn’t valid because she hadn’t broken any rules for TV.
She also corrected David’s spelling mistake. He called her tattoo a “moku” instead of “moko”.
In her email back to him, Kaipara said, “I think you don’t like how I look on TV. But tattoos and people with them aren’t scary or bad. We don’t deserve to be treated badly because of them.”
She asked him to stop complaining and to try to understand better. She even joked that maybe he should go back to the 1800s if he couldn’t accept people with tattoos.
Despite David’s negative words, Kaipara says she mostly gets nice comments, and mean ones are rare.
In an interview with the New Zealand Herald, Kaipara talked about how it’s important to have more Māori people in important jobs. She said, “The fact that my existence makes some people upset shows why we need more Māori people in every job.”
Kaipara’s calm response reminds us how important it is to be proud of who you are, even when people are mean. She’s inspiring others to be proud of themselves and stand up to unfair treatment.
What do you think of this story? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Honeymooners Tried to Make My Flight Hell as Revenge – I Brought Them Back to Earth
On a recent 14-hour flight, I, Toby, 35, was eager to return to my wife and kid. I had splurged on a premium economy seat for extra comfort, but my peace was ruined when newlyweds Dave and Lia came along.
Dave asked me to switch seats with his wife, who was sitting in economy. “I declined politely, explaining I’d paid extra for comfort,” but Dave didn’t take it well, muttering, “You’ll regret this.” What followed was pure chaos.
Dave started coughing loudly, blasting a movie without headphones, and scattering crumbs everywhere. Then Lia joined him, sitting on his lap, turning the row into their personal honeymoon suite. It was clear that their behavior wasn’t going to stop, so I flagged down a flight attendant. She reminded them of the airline’s rules, pointing out safety regulations and common courtesy.
Finally, after much disruption, Dave and Lia were moved to the back of the plane. At last, I had the peace I paid for and could relax for the remainder of the flight. As we landed, I couldn’t resist getting in a last word: “Hope you guys learned something today. Enjoy your honeymoon!”
With their heads down, they didn’t respond, and I walked off the plane, satisfied that I’d stood my ground and taught them a lesson in airplane etiquette.
Leave a Reply