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The mother of a 16-year-old New Zealand climate activist has lashed out at a radio host who mercilessly mocked the teen after admitting she flew to Fiji for a holiday.
Rose Cook, the mother of Wellington climate strike organizer Izzy Cook, wrote an outraged response after hearing her daughter give the telephone interview at the family home.
“I listened in horror as my 16-year-old daughter had a phone conversation with someone who appeared to be bullying, laughing at and talking over her,” Ms Cook wrote for Kiwi website The Spinoff.
Izzy Cook, a 16-year-old organizer of a school climate strike from the New Zealand city of Wellington, faced the end of merciless ridicule after admitting she flew to Fiji on holiday
Under the heading ‘Heather du Plessis-Allan should be ashamed of how she bullied my daughter,’ Ms Cook said the popular radio star interviewed Izzy ‘didn’t give a shit about climate change’.
Ms Cook accused Du Plessis-Allan of staging a ‘gotcha’ moment “to personally discredit her (Izzy) and derail the conversation about climate action”.
During the interview, Izzy tells Du Plessis-Allan that she thinks it’s a good idea if flights are only allowed for “approved events.”
‘Can I go to Fiji, do I have to?’ asks Du Plessis-Allan.
‘In the current climate crisis, I don’t think that’s necessary,’ replies Izzy.
New Zealand radio star Heather du Plessis-Allan has been accused of bullying 16-year-old climate activist Izzy Cook after she laughed lavishly during a radio interview
“When was the last time you were on a plane?” asks Du Plessis-Allan, seemingly innocently.
Izzy gives a hesitant answer.
“Hmmm…I’m not sure…a few months ago to be honest,” she says.
“Where did you go?’ Du Plessis-Allan presses.
‘Fiji’, is the resigned reply.
Du Plessis yells ‘Izzy!’ and burst out laughing.
“Izzy, don’t you care about the climate, Izzy?” she asks as soon as her glee is gone for a while.
“Of course I care about the climate,” Izzy replies firmly.
Twitter users react to the posting of an article by Izzy’s mother, Rose Cook, who was left furious over her daughter’s treatment
“Not enough, you went to … you … went … to … Fiji,” Du Plessis-Allan manages to break through the raucous laugh.
Between the laughter, Du Plessis-Allan manages to address the very quiet Izzy.
‘Izzy, come on buddy!… Are you serious?… Are you serious Izzy?… Have you been to Fiji?’ Du Plessis-Allan gasps.
“Are you serious Izzy?… Are you still here?”
Izzy interrupts.
“It’s kind of ironic, but to be honest, it’s not really a journey I wanted to take, but I can’t really avoid it,” the teen says as Du Plessis-Allan continues to chuckle in the background.
‘Why did you go?’ Du Plessis-Allan interrogates.
‘Because my parents wanted to go. I didn’t want to go,” Izzy replies.
“Are you ashamed that your parents did that to the planet and then forced you to do it too?” asks Du Plessis-Allan.
“Of course I’m not ashamed,” replies an adamant Izzy.
“Have you had a terrible time?” Du Plessis-Allan fires back.
“Not really…” Izzy replies before being interrupted again by Du Plessis-Allan’s laughter.
“Izzy… I’m sorry… mate… listen, you’re such a champion, I think you have a bright future ahead of you and are going to attack again soon,” Du Plessis-Allan says. between her barely holding back her giggles.
“Yeah, we’ll look into that,” Izzy replies.
Unusually for Twitter, there was even a match between commenters
“I’ll talk to you, maybe I’ll get you back on the show,” Du Plessis-Allan says before bursting out laughing again.
Ms. Cook, for example, did not share Du Plessis-Allan’s amusement.
She confirmed that going to Fiji was her idea and Izzy reluctantly came.
Ms Cook believed that Du Plessis-Allan had jumped her daughter after checking out Izzy’s Instagram page and seeing the Fiji trip.
‘Our young people are really terrified of the world they inherit,’ she wrote, describing how ‘unbelievably hard’ her daughter worked to promote her business
‘That’s what it’s about.
Heather du Plessis-Allan became a mother this year. I hope no one ever talks to her child the way she did to mine.’
Those who commented on Twitter under the publication of Ms. Cook’s article by The Spinoff were divided as to whether the Du Plessis-Allan interview was fair.
Izzy Cook had to admit he was on holiday in Fiji (stock image) after saying such flights were not necessary in the ‘current climate crisis’
‘Precious. The girl was pushed forward to be on the agenda, and now there is outrage because she failed and was mocked,” one comment read.
“Treating children as the source of all knowledge, like Greta, may not be correct. When I was 16, I’m sure we didn’t know much about anything.’
Greta is a reference to the worldwide known Swedish teenage activist Greta Thunberg, who started the worldwide school climate strike movement.
The comment provoked an angry response.
“But she didn’t fail at all,” the Twitter user wrote.
‘She is a brave and devoted young woman. If you believe that climate change is an agenda, I hope you or your family live far away from where there will be floods, fires, droughts, hurricanes and famines, because it won’t end soon.’
Swedish teenage activist Greta Thunberg started the global school climate strike movement
One user said Izzy should expect such a question after taking on a public role.
“Buy the ticket, take the ride. If you want to take society in hand, you can expect tough questions. The author and her daughter are hypocrites,” the user wrote.
However, another commentator condemned Du Plessis-Allan’s behavior.
“There are tough questions and then there’s what HDPA did, a juvenile display of ridicule and laughter at the expense of a child,” they wrote.
There was a bit more nuance and even, rarely for social media, a slowly emerging consensus in one exchange.
“She wasn’t bullied. She was mocked for her hypocrisy,” one Twitter user wrote.
“It’s a bit of a fine line when you’re talking about kids, to be honest…” replied another.
“To be fair… children should not be used as props in propaganda campaigns,” said another commentator.
“I totally agree,” the second commenter replied.
‘Although I do wonder to what extent a politically conscious (but naive) 16-year-old can claim to have been manipulated by a parent. In this case, I agree that the mother did this, but not without some responsibility from the child. We’re on the same page.’