A cafe worker had enough with one politician pushing the boundaries, even after she delivered a message to his security detail and the man himself, and the harassment continued. In an exclusive post to The Daily Blog, one New Zealand worker empties her aggravation in a post that has prompted an apology from Prime Minister John Key. The worker draws the reader to a point in time last year when Key visited the cafe during election season. There, upon his arrival, he tugged the worker’s ponytail. Surprised, but not entirely bothered, she waved it off as a friendly, “jolly” gesture.
Little did she know that she would become the continued target of Key’s not-so-amusing antics.
Several times over a course of several months, this inappropriate and unwanted behavior continued. The worker states the prime minister’s wife admonished her husband for pulling her ponytail, and yet Key continued upon each visit. The frustrated cafe worker did not understand why Key pursued the action, after her body language clearly relayed she did not like it. She mentioned the behavior to the politician’s security team, and told them he needs to stop.
Yet, the behavior continued, and Key dropped a comment of the worker having a “very tatalising ponytail.”
The behavior from the politician would only become more disturbing, especially after the worker finally raised her hand, placing it between Key and herself, and told him “No! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!” The prime minister confirmed with the worker’s manager the employee did not like her hair being pulled.
Shockingly, after receiving a clear, verbal message from the worker, on March 26th Key walked into the cafe and mocked the situation.
The worker writes Key made sound effects and placed his hands up when she came around, and he mocked a gesture to pull her hair once more. This time, the worker faced off against the politician and said, “is it self defence, with your security here, if I have to physically stop you from touching me?” The prime minister played coy, smiled at the worker and said “defence against what?” as he loomed over her.
If it is not clear enough, Key did pull the worker’s hair once more on his way out. The bold moves were further insulted when the politician walked back into the cafe, holding Pinot Noir bottles of wine as a sort of apology.
What Key missed is the antagonism the worker faced. Not only did she have to handle being touched by a powerful figure, but mocked by others. She writes about other customers coming up behind her and pulling her ponytail as they chanted, “I’m John Key.”
No means no, yet one politician and many customers considered it a joke. To what degree of defense should a woman take when she has made it clear that she is not interested in being touched? In addition, why did the cafe, as an employer, permit this behavior to continue from the customer rather than handle it, to avoid an employee feeling threatened?
It appears a blog post published was finally the answer to prompt an apology from the politician, but it comes across forced and not genuine following months of bad behavior.