Oh dear…
Chris Bishop apologises for ‘crap’ comment at music awards
Cabinet minister Chris Bishop says he should have kept his comments to himself after saying “what a load of crap” during a performance at Thursday night’s Aotearoa Music Awards in Auckland.
Video footage shows Bishop seated, with a bottle in his hand during pop singer Stan Walker’s segment.
Some people in front of him were on their feet dancing and waving tino rangatiratanga, or self-determination, flags.
In a statement to RNZ, Bishop admitted he said something about performative acclaim and said, what a lot of crap. He said it referred to what he called the overtly political branding on display.
…so many questions.
Firstly, why the Christ was Chris Bishop invited to the NZ Music Awards?
He’s a former tobacco lobbyist and National Party MP, he doesn’t have the soul to appreciate music, art or dance. It’s like asking a Nazgul to finger paint!
So a Boorish, boozed up Bishop became a right ‘Brooke Van Velden’ when he was confronted by performance that had a political edge?
What will Bishop do when he hears about this band called, ‘Rage Against the Machine”?
Stale, Pale and Male has never been so perfect for a politician like the Bish.
But wait, it gets so much better…
Renowned musician Don McGlashan was seen on the video confronting Bishop, but McGlashan said he did not realise at first that it was the minister.
“I could hear an enormous amount of ranting, kind of against the whole thing. I didn’t get the full gist of it, but it was basically – ‘the hīkoi is ages ago, sit down everybody’ – so this geezer was just ranting away and telling everybody to sit down,” McGlashan said.
…Don McGlashan is one of the most decent human beings on the face of the planet, do you have any idea of how much of an arsehole you need to be to force Don to step in?
Wait, wait, wait, oh fuck it gets better…
“After a while I turned to him and said ‘ah shut up you dickhead’ and I looked at him and I thought, oh I know that face. Then he said ‘what did you say to me?’”.
The singer of the angelic ‘Anchor Me’?
The Great MuttonBird?
Pulled along by love?
Halfway down a half way house on Dominion Road?
THE BEAUTIFUL THINGS! THE BEAUTIFUL THINGS! WE SEE THEM, WE WANT THEM, EVERY DAY!
Is this a new arts directive by National? Start fights with musical legends?
Who will the Bish battle next? Dave Dobbyn? Neil Finn?
McGlashan said that he again told Bishop to “shut up you dickhead and he said ‘I could say the same to you’, and I said, well I wasn’t talking and you were. And then I realised I was talking to the leader of the house”.
“For him to take an instant dis-gratification towards Toitū Te Tiriti and that movement and to say that it’s a load of crap is actually highly offensive. I’m very worried for somebody of high power in this country to be making those sorts of remarks in public,” they said.
Normally I wouldn’t call the Bish a ‘Brooke Van Velden’ because he lacks the warmth and depth, but this is so egregiously boorish at a music event he’s earnt it.
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We are only going to see more and more of this arrogant arsehole behaviour.
Jesus, imagine if they get a second term.
It’s a shame Bishop apologised. He’s entitled to his opinion on being subjected to political stunts he doesn’t like. A bit weak of Bishop really.
A further shame that it was left to David Seymour to support Bishop’s criticism. Where was PM Luxon, hiding behind a curtain rather than supporting one of his senior Cabinet Ministers.
The activism was even more inappropriate if the event was funded by Taxpayers.
Yes Bishops activism is funded by taxpayers. Seymour supported Bishop admitting he hadn’t seen the story, that’s how the right roll though, much like their policies without any critical thinking.
Bishop is not the sharpest tool in the shed and the triple chin he has indicates he’s been at the trough for far to long.
Seymour would support Hitler if he was around and any anti fascist activism is good
Was he wrong though…was it crap?
your comment is just wrong and crap. my crap is better than yours – sit down you loser.
Tut tut… no one ever said it was like Placido Domingo or Billy Preston, or even Elton Bloody John. This is Auckland, Jonzie, where the water’s full of peculiar sort of substances and ditto the inhabitants…
Just shows what a white supremist he is and he lacks the thought that we are all allowed to celebrate in our own way .Next he will pass a law under urgency banning the MAORI flag adding to the gang patch law .What va fucken prick he is .
But was Bishop wrong? Wasn’t the event supposed to be about music, rather than politics?
Are you kidding? There is a load of music that contains lyrics that touch on what could be regarded as a political. You sound like George Bush Snr’s campaign when they kept playing “Born in the USA” without having a f’ing clue (let alone permission) what the lyrics were saying about America.
Lyrics are one thing, but shouting TMP slogans and selling TMP merch at the event is another thing altogether. Can you imagine the media reaction if an artist promoted the Nats or ACT at the awards? Any taxpayer funding for the “Aotearoa” music awards should be withdrawn.
Nationals vote will increase over this – one of their MPs finally growing balls.
Nationals vote will decrease over this – another one of their MPs is a fuckwit.
The Aotearoa Music Awards are a musical celebration of victemhood and resentment.
Surprised if anyone with a full-time job attends – outside of the NZ On Air grants industry.
Yes at least no rappers made a song about raping a prime ministers daughter this year.
Isn’t outrage rather selective these days.
Coming from Ada who has every album from Nana Mouskouri.
“The Aotearoa Music Awards are a musical celebration of victemhood and resentment.”
Can you please expand on this and give an example?
cry cry – you could just leave and take your hatred with you. Snowflake!
Sack him. He’s got to go.
Yep… he’s a tosser …and as thick as pigshit to boot…
He thinks talking in angry clipped tones is going to fool people into thinking that he knows what he’s doing… wrong..
That’ll only fool some of the people some of the time.
How he got a law degree beggars belief…
Using Bishop as an example, Law degrees should be downgraded to diploma level in terms of the intellectual firepower required to attain a pass…
BA plus a year and a few funny handshakes
Prepare yourself for weasel words from the PM. Something like:
“What I’d say to you is, I’d have chosen different words, but I’m also comfortable and sorted”
There will be no punishment.
Deplorable.
No manners, no intellect, no local knowledge, no mandate, no use and definitely no fun. He’s a grumpy old man already.
A don’t you know who I am moment. He showed no respect to a cultural event and caused a disturbance in a public place–lock him up!
It’s quite acceptable behaviour to the right wing except at their rallies.
Yes Bishop is a public servant and should be keeping his gob shut. As his employer I would like to see him censured.
Would you? Didn’t you say this:
“Luxon telling public servants that they must support the government because they are their employers is a joke right? So if the government tells you as a public servant to jump off a cliff would you do it? Luxon is fucking clueless.”
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2025/05/30/if-you-are-a-public-servant-you-have-a-duty-to-leak-to-the-media/
Finally, someone who can see the hypocrisy in National, thanks observer.
“ who do you think I am “ MPs have been sacked for less left wing MPs of course Luxon has no balls to discipline anyone.
Spare a thought for Chris Bishop!
I mean obviously the man did not want to go to New Zealand Music Awards.
I mean can a man of Chris Bishop’s background ever appear ‘cool’ or ‘hip’ or with it? Or interesting?
(Come to think of it that applies to basically all National party Members of Parliament. My blood runs cold when I imagine Gerry Brownlee or Judith Collins trying to be ‘groovy’.)
But Chris followed the course of DUTY and went to the Awards to try and impress cool, young people that a tobacco lobbyist has ‘soul’ and ‘culture’.
Not surprising he started hitting the bottle when he got there.
Imagine the poor bastard sitting there among a lot of bright and interesting people, listening to gifted and talented people singing about social problems made worse by he and his accomplices in fraud.
Imagine his disillusion when nobody wants to talk to the stale, white male. No chance of recruiting National voters here!
So he got pissed and made a fool of himself. Who has not?
DO NOT SACK HIM!
Just make listen to non-stop rap music for forty eight hours then Nicola McKee can give him a loaded gun.
He’s entitled to an opinion.
Yes he’s also entitled to take a crap but he should do it in the loo
Good advice Clive.
As were the Maori party in parliament Bob troll but were cancelled. Typical hypocrisy by the righties. Righties love being boorish when they’re tanked up…
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/rude-mp-tweets-apology-over-drunken-night-out/JRLLORAR5A4TN6QSDNKYHUEPCM/
He’s entitled to multiple opinions Bob. He just doesn’t have to force them on people.
Clearly, the only time heckling is OK is if it is from the Left and directed against the Right….
Correct stevie. Sad he resorted to racism but not surprising as a representative of this government.
Who did he FORCE his opinion upon?
Bob the first – NZ Music Awards need to be renamed NZ Political Stunts Awards…I wonder if the NZ taxpayers are funding the awards?
Bob the thirsty as always is entitled to be wrong…
He’s entitled.
How much longer do we have to put up with the staggeringly bad behaviour from too many of those in this ignorant CoC-up government? Latest gob-off from “Bishop-on-Tantrum” at the Aotearoa Music Awards – well handled McGlashan! No doubt weakling Luxon will do a ‘Bayly backdown’ and then a few months down the track admit he should have done something constructive – doubt he knows what that means. The huge number of lies, corruption, bribery, mismangement of money and daily carnage they are sowing is appalling. Anyone still supporting this egotistical lot and believing the BS, has to be either in denial or totally without principles or moral fortitude. Think seriously about it if you are one of them; it’s NOT ABOUT YOU, it’s about the future of our country! Nothing is perfect but this CoC is totally out of control.
I see him regularly at gigs around Wellington, acting like he’s the great supporter of New Zealand music. No doubt I’ll see him again at Whirinaki Whare Taonga in Upper Hutt tonight for Julia Deans, again acting like he’s King Shit of Turd Mountain, surrounded by his sycophantic dickhead mates, while most of the crowd shun him in embarrassment or disgust at his antics. Not a cool guy.
I bet Julia Deans thinks he’s a dickhead too, and is probably mortified he showed up wearing a Fur Patrol tee-shirt. That photo of him and Goldsmith exudes some serious “Hello, fellow kids!” energy.
All good. Luxon will play it down like he always does. Its already last minutes news.
Outside of left-wing journalists and the progressive groupies, no-one will notice or care.
If it had been say Robertson, then Jacinda would have sacked him. Absolutely! Right there. On the spot. Gone burgers.
Bishop didn’t apologise for his boorish and pathetic comment. All he said was that he should have kept his comments to himself which means he still felt it.
Bishops expression of his opinion is, in one way very good because it personifies the far right Trump-like attitude this coalition government holds – racist, misogynist, and its warped belief that it can and indeed should promote the superior aryan race ideal.
In Luxonspeak “I’m relaxed about it” translates as “I’m too afraid to discipline my Ministers ‘cos they may not like me any more and I’m trying to cultivate this image of a chilled dude”.
It’s also a loud dog whistle to the rednecks out there. Probably more inadvertent than planned, but still sends the message that such boorish behaviour is perfectly ok.
A tawdry little man.
That Bishop is apparently the best type of young man that National farmers can foster. (If we were in Australia that would prompt a halt for a beer, but in Kiwiland we can’t even guarantee clean water.) By putting up a goofball in a position of leadership it shows the low opinion and expectation that our middle class and landed class fand international star-ts) think of Kiwiland and our politics.
I’m reading about Ngaio Marsh and how in the 1970s and on it was hard to find a lively intellect moving through NZ culture. Now we have people with accounting machines in their heads, and safety from new ideas, beyond science which can lead to advances that require capital and bring profit, so are ‘fostered’ over a broad and wise-making general education. So looking serious and being able to goof up for the media is all that is needed to be a National star.
“Cabinet minister gets drunk, and tries to start a fistfight with respected musical icon” … And where are the headlines, and the chorus of calls for his instant dismissal? Still residing in the bowels of our “fourth estate” awaiting the appropriate level of curing time for the “new and improvef truth” about said musical icons battles with drugs/alcohol..
All good Bish!! if Stan wants to do a TJ Perenara then good on Bishop for calling out this boring monotony. Good on Stan for waving his flag & Bish for saying ‘yawn’.
entitled arseholes who think they own the place – NZ is full of them and so is this govt.
The question still hasn’t been answered…was it crap? It sounds a bit like it.
Yes, Bishop’s comment was crap.
What I would say to you ,as PM i dont give a toss because Im down at Katikati.
I have posted this elsewhere but now putting it here as well:
In the 80s my father’s boss went to a business meeting where alcohol was freely available. There was a certain National MP at that meeting who had been drinking copiously during the whole time and most likely had been drinking beforehand. He was one of Muldoon cronies and drinking buddies. He said to those around him that a certain company in the timber industry would not get any contracts from the Muldoon government because they did not donate to the NZ National Party. I recall reading somewhere that Muldoon and his cronies on say a Friday night would meet up for drinking binges in the Beehive. When Muldoon called the Snap Election is was clear to all and sundry that he had been drinking heavily before meeting the waiting media. It does seem National MPs in particular have a problem with alcohol. From memory Paul Foster Bell assaulted a waiter whilst he was an MP and was drunk. Fast forward to more recently and Andrew Bayly insulted and bullied a worker at a winery. And now Chris Bishop has shown how too much booze loosens the tongue with Bishop yelling something out that probably has been on his mind for a long, long time. Of course the Prime Weakling/Coward/Lazy/Spineless and Gutless Wonder that is Luxon would find no Fault or Blame or even Required ACCOUNTABILITY for what Bishop did. It seems when it comes to National MPs in the Luxon cabinet that whilst they, the National MPs, hold NZers to account and are instantly Judgmental of NZers especially those of Left leaning an example being the National MPs attacks on Tory Whanau and claims she had a problem with booze; they are Automatically Excluded From Taking Responsibility and Accountability for THEIR actions. In fact Bishop has made a Mockery of the NZ Political environment and the National Party. Long may he continue to do so because it would indicate how Unworthy of a Vote Every National Party MP is. It does however highlight that Bullies like Bishop have a weakness for the booze which could explain why they are drawn to the NZ National Party.
What is up with these racist politicians, they’re so disrespectful to our beautiful Maori Tanga There has always been the odd one like this but not like this Coalition Government. All this inappropriate behavior needs to stop and they should all be stood down. I’m Pakeha by the way