Olivia Pierson, author of Western Values Defended: A Primer, has got into hot water for describing New Zealand foreign minister Nanaia Mahuta’s traditional Maori chin tattoo ‘the height of ugly, uncivilised wokedom’.
Prominent online retailer Mighty Ape said it had withdrawn her book in response, and ‘would not be making it available again’.
Mahuta, recently elevated to the Cabinet in a reshuffle following a general election last month, is reportedly the first female MP in New Zealand to have a traditional Maori tattoo on the chin.
The BBC reports that some New Zealanders with Maori heritage wear tattoos, known as moko, to mark their genealogy and heritage.
Pierson earned critical attention when she tweeted: ‘”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,’ adding that a facial tattoo ‘especially on a female diplomat, is the height of ugly, uncivilised wokedom’.
Pierson is quoted by MailOnline as saying: ‘I was not even aware until yesterday that Mighty Ape was a seller of my book, so am not too perturbed by that.
‘Cancel culture is rife in NZ and around the world, so this is no great surprise.
‘What does surprise me is that I have had hundreds of disgusting threats of violence to my person, including umpteen death threats by Maori supporters of Nanaia Mahuta, because I expressed my view about facial tattoos.
‘Threatening violence and death in a country like NZ, which has the cornerstone liberty of freedom of expression, is indeed uncivilised and wrong on every level.’