2020 Election: Auckland Optometrist Faces Backlash After Rejecting National Leader Judith Collins

A Ponsonby retailer has revealed why national leader Judith Collins and her entourage were ordered out of the store, saying that staff are now facing a backlash online.

It was the subject of election campaign nightmares yesterday when Collins, with the media in tow, was told not to enter an Auckland optometrist.

The Ponsonby store, Oscar Wylee, explained today that the refusal was not political, but was reduced to the size of the group. And the staff didn’t want to be on TV.

“I don’t want to politicize it in any way,” an Oscar Wylee spokesman told the Herald.

“The whole reason was because there was a huge crowd and we didn’t want to be on TV.”

The incident made headlines yesterday when, while walking down Ponsonby Rd, the National Party leader tried to enter his store.

It was also suggested that National had filled the Ponsonby Rd ​​walk with party supporters.

As he was trying to log into the Covid-19 app, insiders told him “no, we don’t want you here,” before giving the opposition leader the go-ahead.

Collins simply played down the incident and blamed the media pack on her at the time.

Telling the spokesperson that a staff member told at least one news outlet yesterday that he did not support National, he said the company as a whole had no such view.

“We have no loyalty to any political party,” he said.

Since the incident, the store has faced huge backlash online, particularly on social media, where some National supporters have called for a boycott of the business.

On the store’s Facebook page, one man commented: “The message has already gone out, telling National fans not to use Oscar Wylee. How silly, Oscar!”

While another person wrote: “Everyone needs to promote this place. The lady who gave Judas (sic) Collins 2 thumbs down deserves a medal.”

Oscar Wylee’s spokesman confirmed that they had been facing a number of calls from people upset over the incident, but also a lot of support from members of the public who support other political parties.

Much of that positive feedback came from Labor supporters, he said.

“We’ve had a barrage of negative comments, canceled reservations and bad reviews from Google, which is really unnecessary,” he said.

“But those are social media these days.”