Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour has apologised after sending an email to a woman that contained the phrase "Are you ready to accept you've just had a beating?" He has acknowledged the language was inappropriate.

The woman had emailed Seymour to ask him about his parliamentary parking expenses. According to RNZ, she is an abuse survivor. Seymour's response included the phrase quoted above, which RNZ and Stuff both confirmed came directly from his email.

Seymour has since apologised for using violent language. As of 15 June 2026, no details have been made public about when the exchange happened or what the parking question specifically concerned.

The incident comes as Seymour faces wider questions about how he behaves online. Last year, The Conversation reported that he had been posting "Victim of the Day" content on social media that targeted people criticising his Regulatory Standards Bill. At the time, Seymour described these posts as "playful" and "fun." Other commentators questioned whether calling targeted online hostility "playful" trivialised it.

This email is different from those social media posts in important ways. A private email is not a public post, and the woman who received it was not a political opponent — she was a constituent asking her MP about his expenses. Using combat language in that context, especially toward someone with a history of abuse, appears to be why Seymour apologised.

The Deputy Prime Minister role carries real weight in New Zealand politics beyond the minister's specific portfolio. Seymour has held the job since 2025, leading ACT as a coalition partner in the National-led government. How Parliament, the coalition partners, and the Press Gallery respond will partly depend on whether more information comes out — whether this was an isolated incident or part of a pattern, and whether the apology was offered willingly or only after the media asked about it.

What is clear is that a serving Deputy Prime Minister sent an email with violent language to a member of the public who contacted him as their MP, and apologised once the matter became public.