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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Dolly Parton was criticized for looking “cheap” and “ugly,” but she has responded.
Dolly Parton has enjoyed a long and incredibly successful career in the spotlight.
Her talents have spanned decades and styles, making her a constant presence in the entertainment industry for as long as we can remember.
Despite her legendary status, she still has to deal with critics. Recently, some people have been giving her a hard time about her looks, even though she’s nearing her eighties.
Dolly Parton, 77, is a well-known name in both country music and the celebrity world.
The Tennessee native is a true legend and has loved entertaining her fans throughout her long career.
In a recent interview with Pollystar, Dolly explained that she won’t be touring anymore. She said:
“I’ll do special shows here and there, maybe a long weekend of shows or a few at a festival. But I have no plans to do a full tour anymore,” Dolly Parton said.
Dolly, who rose to the top of the entertainment world after growing up in poverty in the Appalachian Mountains, will definitely be missed on stage.
Despite her undeniable popularity, some people still criticize Dolly Parton for her appearance.
In fact, her appearance has been a topic of criticism since the start of her career. Dolly has even mentioned that people used to tell her to change her signature look if she wanted a serious career.
“The main advice people gave me was to change my look—simplify my hair and the way I dress,” she explained.
“They would say I looked too cheap and that no one would ever take me seriously.”
Over the years, the mean comments haven’t stopped. Some people feel even more justified in labeling Dolly unfairly.
One Twitter user wrote, “Dolly Parton is one ugly lady,” while another said, “Dolly Parton is so ugly, but she has nice breasts.”
Despite the unkind comments online, Dolly stays positive. She is comfortable with her body and looks, and she isn’t about to change for anyone.
“It costs a lot of money to look this cheap,” she once famously said.
Regarding her husband, Dolly has shared that he loves her no matter what.
“He doesn’t care if I’m fat,” Dolly said. “He’s fool enough to think I’m the sexiest, prettiest woman in the world.”
Dolly is always eager for new challenges. According to Rolling Stone, she’s ready to embrace her 2022 entry into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by creating an album that might be outside her usual style.
Fans were thrilled when it was announced that Dolly was being considered for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. However, Dolly herself was initially hesitant, believing that, since her career was mostly in country music, others might be more deserving of the honor.
In the end, the voters decided that Dolly belonged in the Hall of Fame. In November, she was inducted and immediately began working to prove that she deserved the recognition.
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