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.
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What the great Steven Seagle’s four daughters look like
Many people are aware that Steven Seagal, the director, producer, actor, and singer, became a Russian citizen three years ago after receiving a sought, official piece of paper. In a nutshell, Seagle’s acting career began when he was 36 years old, with his first role in the film «Above the Law.»
People were also fascinated by gorgeous Stephen’s personal life, which was, by the way, a tumultuous one. The actress is now 67 years old and the mother of seven children, four of them are daughters. Let’s have a look at how they seem today.
Fujitani, Ayako
The girl is Seagle’s eldest daughter and is the result of her first marriage. Ayako is 40 years old and works in the film business, however she has been on maternity leave for the past couple of years and is caring for her daughter.
Annalize Segal Little is known about Seagal’s third wife’s kid, as she is not a media celebrity and dislikes the spotlight. We only know her age and that her mother is the well-known model Kelly Lebrock.
Annalize Segal Because she is not a media personality and prefers being in the spotlight, nothing is known about Seagal’s third wife’s child. Her age and the fact that her mother is the well-known model Kelly Lebrock are all we know about her.
Swann Segal is a well-known actor. Stephen’s youngest daughter is the result of a connection with the nanny who looks after his children. Of course, the previous marriage ended as a result of this, but the connection with the nanny was short-lived. Savannah lives with her mother and has shown to be a bright and clever young lady.
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