A reality TV contestant has left Kiwis insulted over what appeared to be an "ignorant" attempt at performing a haka to seduce his partner.
The man in question is ‘90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way’ star, Sarper Güven. Footage shows him performing a version of the traditional Māori dance for his fiancée, Shekinah Garner, followed by some questionable grunting.
“You look so hot,” Shekinah told Sarper as he launched into the performance.
The alleged haka was said to be an attempt at keeping their relationship “alive”.
"Role-playing keeps the relationship alive for both me and Shekinah," Sarper said
“She loves it when I dance,” he added in a confessional. “Every kind of dance, but this one was special.”
“The dance was ... interesting,” Shekinah told the camera, as Sarper asked: “I mean, you prefer me to waltz or tango?”
“I prefer your strip tease,” she joked.
It's fair to say Kiwis who have seen the scene were less than impressed by Sarper's moves.
“That is a poor attempt at the New Zealand haka, he should learn it properly and show NZ respect,” one commenter wrote on Facebook.
“It’s one thing for the bedroom, but please remember you are being filmed,” a second said. “That right there is disrespectful to the haka and its meaning; and ALL of New Zealand. Ugh, gross ignorance.”
“Don’t ever disrespect another culture again. He’s so weird for that, added a third.
A fourth described the moment as “insulting”.
While it was never directly addressed in the episode that Sarper was performing the traditional Māori dance, many viewers agree that the performance was inappropriate.
