Brian Tamaki has described a flag featuring an image of his face inset on a pride rainbow as offensive. Photo / Facebook
Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki is seeking legal advice after spotting his face plastered over a pride flag at the country’s biggest LGBTQ+ festival.
Tamaki called the pride flag, which was attached to a stall at the Big Gay Out event in Auckland last Sunday, a “deliberate misuse” of his image.
Tamaki shared a video on his social media made by Re: News, which covered the opinions of the LGBTQ+ community at the festival.
The flag in question, which Tamaki called offensive, was captured during the video.
Re: News, which is a platform that covers stories for young New Zealanders, asked people about their opinions on last year’s anti-queer protests and what they wanted to see in the year to come.
Last year, Destiny Church was linked to people breaking through police barricades and disrupting a rainbow parade, as well as violently disrupting a drag event at a library.
Many of the respondents said they wanted a safe space, while others said Tamaki should just let people be who they are.
“F*** Brian Tamaki,” one event attendee said.
“We’ve got to keep fighting the good fight.”
Tamaki shared a caption under the Re: News video, which featured his criticisms of the “radical pride ideology” in Aotearoa New Zealand.
“If you spot the deliberate misuse of my image on an offensive flag … I am actively seeking advice about what action can be taken against organisers and media who think hateful reproduction and misrepresentation is acceptable," Tamaki wrote on Facebook.
“If this is defamation, I hope they’ve got deep pockets.”
It is currently unclear who owned the flag.
Destiny Church has been approached for comment.
Big Gay Out organisers, Burnett Foundation Aotearoa, said the foundation supported the right to freedom of expression in New Zealand.
The Burnett Foundation’s chief organisation enablement officer, Mary Haddock-Staniland, said the long-standing event is a day grounded in visibility, connection, health and joy.
“Each year, thousands of people attend to celebrate who they are and to access vital health and wellbeing services in a safe, welcoming environment,” Haddock-Staniland said.
With any large public event, attendees express themselves in a range of ways, Haddock-Staniland said.
“The Burnett Foundation Aotearoa does not create or endorse individual signs, flags, or messages brought by members of the public.
“Our role is to ensure the event remains safe, inclusive, and respectful for everyone present.”
Haddock-Staniland said the foundation supported the right to freedom of expression alongside the right for communities to gather safely and without harassment.
“We also know that strong views and disagreement are part of a healthy democracy. What matters most to us is that engagement remains respectful,” Haddock-Staniland said.
Last weekend’s event also hit headlines after a protester was forcibly removed from the stage.
Footage of the incident showed members of the queer rights group Rainbow Action Tāmaki (RAT) heckling at Big Gay Out in Auckland’s Coyle Park.
RAT spokesperson Mia Crossan told the Herald the pair who went on the stage were not RAT members but “invigorated” community members, frustrated that their voices were not being heard or respected.
This year’s Big Gay Out event comes after members of Tamaki’s Destiny Church broke through police barricades and disrupted a rainbow parade in central Auckland last year.
A group wearing Man Up T-shirts blocked Ponsonby Rd, holding up the parade as they performed a haka.
The group then stood in front of police officers who were walking ahead of the parade.
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown criticised the action of protesters after an earlier violent disruption at a children’s event in the city featuring a drag king.
“There is absolutely no place for thuggery,” he said.
In February last year, parents and children were barricaded inside a library stormed by about 50 Destiny Church members.
The library had been hosting a Pride Festival Drag Queen storytime event.
Parents described the terrifying scene and said they feared the mob would burst in and “hurt people”.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said it is important to respect people’s right to free speech and peaceful protest, but the Destiny Church protest went “too far”.
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