Auckland Business Chamber CEO Simon Bridges, former National leader, roasted on Herald NOW for his facial hair

As the former leader of the National Party, Simon Bridges is no stranger to hard-hitting questions.

So when Herald NOW presenter Ryan Bridge took aim at Bridges’ newest hairstyle and bushy beard, he was prepared.

Auckland Business Chamber CEO Bridges took part in a panel discussion alongside GP and filmmaker Dr Sapna Samant on Herald NOW this morning - but the trio spent the first few minutes of the segment discussing the former politician’s hair and beard.

“What in the hell is happening to your head, Simon? What’s on your face?” Bridge asked.

“You said to me off-air, ‘You take it too far’ – that’s the point. In a sea of mediocrity and complacency, I am taking it too far,” Bridges explained.

A hirsute Simon Bridges was owning his new look.

“I like it. I think it’s important to have a talking point – it’s got you talking.”

“Are you going to go and live in a cave? What is the goal?” Bridge asked, to which the former politician jokingly replied, “That’s rude.”

Asked what his wife thinks of his latest look, Bridges stated proudly, “She loves it.

“The children love it, they think I look like Jack Black.”

It’s not the first time Bridges’ locks have caused a stir – back in 2021, he began sporting what the Herald’s former political editor Claire Trevett then described as a “corporate mullet”.

Former National Party leader Simon Bridges has previously sported a mullet. Photo / Greg Bowker

Dr Samant gently informed him that if he wasn’t already using beard grooming products, “it’s time to”.

“That’s almost as rude as Ryan, that was sly actually,” he joked in response.

“You get out of politics, you think the sledging stops.”

“Once you’ve done politics, you are permanently the butt of everyone’s jokes,” Bridge added.

The panel went on to discuss Smith & Caughey’s closure, weasels invading Zealandia through a broken fence, and the upcoming Blues vs Crusaders clash.

Herald NOW streams live on nzherald.co.nz weekdays from 7am to 9am.