Terry Kavanagh against Stuff

Stuff published an article on February 6, 2026, titled Chappell Roan didn’t know how scared she was until she felt calm in New Zealand.

This was a brief story about Chappell Roan’s comments to the crowd during her performance at Auckland’s Laneway festival, where she said “It’s tough in my country right now.  It’s tough.  It’s always been tough, but Jesus f…ing Christ”.

“Like when I saw the pride flags here.... I was just like, mum, I’m so scared in the United States, f... but like to be here and like to see so many businesses with pride flags. This is f...ing awesome.”

Terry Kavanagh complained about the use of expletives in the article...”one obviously related to an orgasm and the other referring to the phrase "Jesus f....ing Christ.”

“While the former is best left to private situations and certainly not at concerts attended by young persons, my main concern is with the latter phrase. This type of extreme profanity and obscenity is highly objectionable to Christians, and I suggest most non-Christians.”

In response Stuff said: “While we would prefer not to be reporting the profanity, we can't change what a person says and have to be true to the words spoken as part of our journalistic ethics.

“In this case, there was a particular news current making Chappell Roan's visit to New Zealand, and the comments at the Laneway festival event, newsworthy, following her shocking appearance at the Grammys just a week prior.

“It's an emotional time for people in the US at the moment, and so it's understandable she might express herself so evocatively on stage in New Zealand as she makes a point about her feelings and the political situation at home. Including the profanity in the quotes supported the reporting of how deeply she felt about the situation and was a true reflection of what occurred at Laneway.”

The Media Council understands that people may be offended by swearing and profanity. It has received similar complaints over previous years.

However, the singer’s comments were common parlance, particularly in a concert performance setting. It no doubt conveyed her strong feelings and there was no indication that her audience was offended.

The Media Council does not have a Principle relating to good taste and decency. Language use has always been considered a matter of editorial discretion. As the Council has noted before, readers do not have a right not to be offended, and if they find a publication distasteful, they can choose to get their news elsewhere. That is a risk editors run when they publish material that is likely to upset their readers.

As stated in a previous ruling 3579 Stephen Merriman against Stuff:

“The Council’s remit does not extend to matters of editorial style. Editors are ultimately responsible for what appears in their publications, and it is over to them to set style guides in accordance with what they consider to be standards acceptable to their readers.  The word “fuck” is now in common parlance and often appears in the mainstream media, as it does in song and cinema. Times change and what may have been outside the realms of editorial discretion 25 years ago, is now firmly within it.”

It is also noted that the Media Council’s founding precept is that there is no more important Principle in a democracy than freedom of expression.

Decision:  No grounds to proceed.