Jacinda Ardern tells Stephen Colbert it’s ‘slightly offensive’ to assume all Kiwis were in The Hobbit
NEW Zealand’s supermum Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern held her own when Stephen Colbert made a ‘slightly offensive’ call in a TV interview.
NEW Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern has schooled Stephen Colbert on her homeland, saying it’s ‘slightly offensive’ to assume all Kiwis had a part in The Hobbit or Lord of The Rings.
The PM, who sat down with Colbert on The Late Show, wasdescribed by him as the biggest thing to happen in the country since “Frodo dropped the ring into Mt Doom”.
Ardern talked candidly about handshake strategies, shopping for maternity bras and the moment her partner Clark Gayford tripped over while meeting Donald Trump.
She appeared on the show today, which will air in the US tonight.
Beforehand, Ardern gave her Facebook fans a live update from the green room, speaking candidly about her United Nations talks as Colbert’s producers prepped her for their interview.
She told viewers she needed to rush back to her hotel after Colbert to work on her speech for the UN General Assembly: “Which I haven’t quite finished yet and I need to lock that down tonight.”
At show time, the US comedian introduced her as the youngest female world leader and the second elected leader in history to have a baby during her term.
Gayford sat in the audience while their baby daughter Neve was backstage, according to Stuff.co.nz.
Little Neve stole the show in New York earlier this week when she became the first baby to appear on the UN General Assembly floor.
The Colbert audience reportedly gushed when he showed them a picture of the PM holding Neve on her knee during the UN talks.
Ardern joked the crowd were admiring Gayford and not Neve.
Colbert, who is a big Hobbit fan, asked Ardern about growing up near Hobbiton — the movie set featured in The Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. It is located in Matamata about two hours from Auckland.
She told him she found it “slightly offensive” that people assume every New Zealander starred in Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit.
He then asked if she had.
“Some of us auditioned but weren’t successful OK?” she said.
Colbert asked her what she was thinking when the world’s leaders laughed at Trump’s speech to the UN: “Are you trying to create a diplomatic incident?” she replied.
“So no war between the US and NZ,” he pressed, also asking her about the steel and aluminium tariffs the US had imposed on NZ.
Arden did speak about the moment she had raised that with the US president … because Gayford knocked over a flagpole at that exact moment.
“I raised it; then the flag went down … as I turned around he was holding a long metal prong …
“I’m surprised no one leapt on it at that point because it looked like a weapon.”
He also quizzed her on her handshake strategy: “I have quite a firm shake … it’s the way we shake in New Zealand.”
Colbert also asked why Kiwis were so full of energy, describing them as very vital and vigorous”.
She said she’d never heard that before: “It makes us sound like a health product.”
So far the supermum has been a hit in New York, appearing on the Today show and an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour.
The next two days will be jam-packed for Ardern as she prepares to deliver a national statement to the General Assembly.
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