Jacinda Ardern has taken a tongue-in-cheek jab at Mark Richardson.
The Prime Minister posted a photo of the AM Show host on his mobile while she appeared for her weekly interview Tuesday morning.
"Couldn't quite grab Mark's attention this morning," Ardern wrote on the photo, which she shared on her Instagram story.
The photo showed a hand-drawn circle around the mobile phone-using Richardson, as well as a smiley face emoji.
Although today's comment was lighthearted, the pair's relationship has been fraught in the past.
Ardern famously swung out at Richardson in 2017 over a comment he made around pregnancy in the workplace.
He argued that employers should have the right to know whether women were planning on having a baby, as they would be required to provide paid parental leave.
Richardson made his case when Ardern became leader of the Labour Party, saying that the country had a right to know whether she planned to have a baby as the New Zealand public would essentially be her employers.
Ardern responded at the time by saying said it was "unacceptable" for women to be subjected to such questions.
"It is totally unacceptable in 2017 to say that women should have to answer that question in the workplace. That is unacceptable in 2017. It is the woman's decision about when they choose to have children," she said.
"It should not predetermine whether or not they get the job."
Last year when Ardern was chosen as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine, the broadcaster also caused controversy, saying he was sick of the "sanctimony" the media had for Ardern.
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"I don't think she's a pioneer when it comes to women holding successful roles, having babies and still doing a fine job of it. That's been going on in this country for some time now," he said at the time.
In Ardern's appearance on the AM Show Tuesday, she spoke to host Duncan Garner, about gun reforms, Monday's Fonterra announcement, and the ongoing protest at Ihumātao, among other things.
Ardern spoke only with Garner throughout the nine-minute segment, with Richardson and co-host Amanda Gillies only appearing briefly in the background as they sat by during the interview.
Newshub.
