A New Zealand church leader has blamed Cyclone Gabrielle, which caused widespread devastation in the North Island, on the wrath of God.
Self-proclaimed “apostle” Brian Tamaki said last month’s deadly weather hit his country because of pornography, abortion and gay rights.
During a sermon, the founder of Destiny Church admitted to researching online the pornography habits of those affected by the extreme weather.
Citing stats he found on Pornhub, he said some of the cyclone-affected towns – Gisborne and Hastings – have the “highest porn viewership in the country.”
“Don’t hate me for this,” Tamaki said. “I see the perversion that comes with bad weather. So I stepped up (to Pornhub’s website),” he told his followers. He claimed to be “shocked” by his discovery, but insisted, “I don’t watch porn, by the way.”
Self-proclaimed ‘apostle’ Brian Tamaki (pictured last August) has said last month’s deadly Cyclone Gabrielle hit New Zealand over pornography, abortion and gay rights
“That town over there, Hastings and Gisborne, has the highest porn viewer rate in the country and it’s one of the highest averages per capita in the world,” he said, according to a report on Tamaki’s sermon in the New Zealand Herald.
And they are the biggest viewers on the gay porn site. I know! And I closed it and thought, I can’t do this in church, I can’t say this in public.”
Despite this, he continued his quest so that “people can see the truth.” “Please stop watching porn, New Zealand. It’ll get us in trouble,” he pleaded.
The Destiny Church is a fundamentalist Christian Pentecostal movement, headquartered in Auckland, and politically affiliated with the far right.
It was founded in 1998 and has since gained notoriety for its stance against gay rights, its patriarchal attitudes and its calls for a return to biblical conservative family values, in an otherwise generally liberal-minded country.
The church — which at one point had up to 5,000 members — has been labeled a cult by some news outlets in the country.
Tamaki was criticized for his comments and mocked as well.
Gisborne Mayor Rehette Stoltz said his comments were “laughable,” the New Zealand Herald reported, but also “disappointing” and “unhelpful.”
“We have families struggling after losing their homes and livelihoods and a beloved member of the community has lost their life,” she said. “In true Kiwi style, the rest of NZ has supported and supported us every step of the way.”
Stoltz said the church leader wasted his time “investigating” on Pornhub, and instead said she would be happy to send him details of where he could donate to charitable efforts that help the storm-hit regions recover.
Cyclone Gabrielle hit New Zealand’s North Island on February 12, destroying roads and bridges, leaving tens of thousands without power in an area covering a third of the country.
At least 11 people died and police are still searching for 4 missing persons.
More than 6,000 went missing in the storm’s immediate aftermath and communications were disrupted in many areas, but that number has fallen in the wake of recovery efforts. The national state of emergency, only the third declared in the country’s history, will continue in the regions hit by the cyclone.
Severe weather hit the North Island again on Friday, with heavy rains leading to more evacuations in Hawke’s Bay, one of the regions hardest hit by Gabrielle.
Storms triggered flash flooding and evacuation warnings in and around Auckland, the country’s largest city with a population of about 1.6 million.
Cyclone Gabrielle hit New Zealand’s North Island on February 12, destroying roads and bridges, leaving tens of thousands without power in an area covering a third of the country. Police are still looking for 4 missing persons
The Waiohiki Bridge over the Tutaekuri River washes away on February 14, 2023 in Napier, New Zealand, as the country is ravaged by Cyclone Gabrielle
The Herald noted that Tamaki had made similar comments in 2016, when he blamed both the Kaikoura earthquake – which occurred that year – and the earlier devastating 2011 Christchurch earthquake on “gays, sinners and murderers.”
His comments were labeled “ridiculous” and “pathetic” by officials at the time.
Former Prime Minister John Key said at the time: ‘The facts of life are that New Zealand is a seismically sensitive country, with some very well identified fault lines.
“We got a little bit unlucky I think, those plates are obviously moving a little bit. It has nothing to do with people’s sexuality. I mean, it’s just madness.’
