Apology for fa'afafine presenter 14.12.05 9.15am UPDATE
By Julie Middleton

 

"Fa'afafine extraordinaire" and award-winning fashion designer Lindah Lepou has received an apology from an Auckland City staffer who dumped her at the last minute from an onstage Pasifika presenting role.

Alleging that she had been discriminated against because she is fa'afafine - males who take a female gender role in Samoan society - Ms Lepou laid a complaint with the Human Rights Commission against the council and a former council entertainment director, Thelo Meleisea.

The terms of the settlement are confidential, though it is known neither the council nor Mr Meleisea conceded legal liability.

But part of the resolution is a formal apology from Mr Meleisea.

It says in part: "I accept that my actions were extremely inconsiderate, hurtful and deeply insensitive".

At the time of Ms Lepou's dumping, Auckland City publicly conveyed its "deepest apologies ... for any offence created by the last-minute change".

"We expected the decision of the organising committee to be honoured and are very disappointed that it wasn't adhered to."

Ms Lepou, 32, said she was happy with the outcome: "I accept the apologies".

The Aucklander was on the verge of presenting an award for the first Pacific Island Music Awards, held alongside the March Pasifika festival, when she was unceremoniously hauled off the stage.

She described what happened in a September issue of the Listener: "I have the envelope and trophy in my hand and there's a blackout. The stage manager just snatches it off me and says, "You've been cut", and the security guard who has been staring at me is coming to get me ...

"All of the hard work, all that I have built, has just been shattered in a matter of seconds. And this is in front of 15,000 people, on national radio and TV."

According to a television news report, she was told the reason was that there were Christians in the audience who would be offended by her sexual orientation.

Reasons for the dumping were not given in the press statement released yesterday. But it did quote Ms Lepou as saying that fa'afafine had been an accepted part of Pacific societies since ancient times.

"For me, the opportunity to appear at the festival and present one of the awards was not just a personal honour, but also a recognition of our place in our culture," she said.

"To have that taken away didn't just hurt me - it hurt all fa'afafine and transgender people."

She added: "It is important for fa'afafine and transgender people to realise that, if they are discriminated against, they can complain to the Human Rights Commission. Its also important for those who might be tempted to discriminate to know that we won't accept it."

A council spokesperson said Ms Lepou would be one of the headline performers at the opening night of next year's Pasifika Festival on March 10 and 11