Max Key, son of New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, is no stranger to posing for photos – his 40,000 Instagram followers are regularly treated to shirtless shots, including one with his dad (see below).
None have been as racy as those in a photo-shoot for the latest issue of Remix Magazine. In a number of images Key poses shirtless, in underwear, and showing off a snail-trail.
But it’s the inclusion of a cigarette in one image which has caused controversy.
“Why are you holding a cigarette, a couple weeks after your father's budget announced a 10% increase in cigarette prices over the next 4 years in order to act as a deterrent to smoking? Kinda weird to glamorise it,” wrote Instagram user Bella Lily, echoing a number of other comments.
Prime Minister Key recently announced a rise in the tax on cigarettes of 10% per year for the next four years. The country will also follow Australia’s lead and introduce plain packaging for tobacco products.
"Nothing kills you with greater predictability than smoking," Prime Minister Key said as he announced the plans.
The Prime Minister hasn’t directly commented on the cigarette, but did say he thought the photos were "pretty cool."
"He's a man now, you know he's capable of doing his own things and you know, I think it's quite cool, photos look good," he said.
The property and commerce student, and part-time DJ used the interview with Remix to promote his new single ‘Forget You’ and define his public image.
“I don’t actually go out as much as people say, like with the whole ‘party boy’ label,” he told the magazine. "I’ve learnt my lesson and I did stuff on social media that didn’t help, but I was 18 and still learning."
The 21-year-old also acknowledged his father’s role in promoting his career. “Dad made a status about [the song], which was the first time ever,” he said.
Source: Remix Magazine
On politics, he says he generally agrees on his father, who is leader of the centre-right New Zealand National Party.
“With the policy stuff, I’ll always question why they did something if I don’t understand it, but generally we don’t disagree,” he told the magazine.
Source: Remix Magazine
