New Zealand's prime minister apologizes for pulling waitress's hair

WELLINGTON, New Zealand, April 22 (UPI) -- Prime Minister of New Zealand, John Key, has apologized to a waitress who works at a cafe for pulling her hair, even after asking him not to.

Key was accused of harassment by the waitress for repeatedly pulling her hair wile she worked at a cafe in Auckland starting in November during an election campaign.

"He would come up behind me when I was at the ordering terminal, tug on my hair and then pretend that his wife, Bronagh, had done it (much to her embarrassment), and she would tell him to stop it. As he rounded the corner behind me he commented 'that's a very tantalizing ponytail'," she wrote on New Zealand's The Daily Blog.

Key apologized for his actions, which sparked criticism from an opposition party and the public.

"His actions were intended to be light-hearted. It was never his intention to make her feel uncomfortable and he has apologized to her," a spokesperson for Key said.

Metiria Turei, a leader of New Zealand's Green Party, condemned his actions.

"As politicians our job is to make people feel safe at work, not bullied," she told The New Zealand Herald. "We should expect higher standards of behaviour from our prime minister, not this weird hair-pulling."