Take It From Us with Kent Johns
Aug 6, 2026 · 37 min · 10 segments
"I'm a catastrophiser," admits Grant Robertson, New Zealand's former Deputy Prime Minister. It's a confession that sits behind a high-profile political career — years of COVID decisions, and…
Grant RobertsonGuest
Kent JohnsHost
Well, p- look, you know, I've, I worked in radio, at Radio Sport, Grant, for 20 years, and I, I would have these conversations on air.
And I'll never forget there was a basketballer in America, he's since deceased, um, Jason Collins.
He was an NBA player, current player, who said, "I'm gay." And the avalanche of abuse and intolerance to him telling his story, and then me having the temerity to want to discuss it-
... and to do him justice by not ignoring it, by talking about it, was overwhelming.
Now, I'd like to think things have improved a little bit in the last 10 or 15 years, but there are still a lot of New Zealanders out there, Grant, who think that being gay is ch- you choosing to be gay, therefore it's my opinion that I don't have to like it.
And I think, I think the latter thing you said there is, is still the issue in many ways, is that people think this is some sort of attention-seeking lifestyle thing.
You know, I didn't think I'd be qu- quoting Lady Gaga in this interview, but, you know-
You know, like I, I was doing a speech the other day to a group of, a, a rainbow student group.
Uh, and someone asked me about coming out, and I said, the thing about coming out is you never stop doing it, because you encounter different groups of people in your life who perhaps don't realize you're gay or, or whatever.
And I was at an event recently where there was a group of people, really lovely group of people, who kind of admitted that they didn't really know anyone personally that was gay.
Firstly I said, "Well, I actually suspect you do, you just don't realize." But secondly, you know, it was an opportunity just to talk about kind of what it means and who people are and why they act the way they do.
And I just think in that sporting a- area, the most successful people are going to be people who are able to be completely in tune with who they are, who are not carrying anything.
Well, p- look, you know, I've, I worked in radio, at Radio Sport, Grant, for 20 years, and I, I would have these conversations on air.
And I'll never forget there was a basketballer in America, he's since deceased, um, Jason Collins.
He was an NBA player, current player, who said, "I'm gay." And the avalanche of abuse and intolerance to him telling his story, and then me having the temerity to want to discuss it-
... and to do him justice by not ignoring it, by talking about it, was overwhelming.
Now, I'd like to think things have improved a little bit in the last 10 or 15 years, but there are still a lot of New Zealanders out there, Grant, who think that being gay is ch- you choosing to be gay, therefore it's my opinion that I don't have to like it.
And I think, I think the latter thing you said there is, is still the issue in many ways, is that people think this is some sort of attention-seeking lifestyle thing.
You know, I didn't think I'd be qu- quoting Lady Gaga in this interview, but, you know-
You know, like I, I was doing a speech the other day to a group of, a, a rainbow student group.
Uh, and someone asked me about coming out, and I said, the thing about coming out is you never stop doing it, because you encounter different groups of people in your life who perhaps don't realize you're gay or, or whatever.
And I was at an event recently where there was a group of people, really lovely group of people, who kind of admitted that they didn't really know anyone personally that was gay.
Firstly I said, "Well, I actually suspect you do, you just don't realize." But secondly, you know, it was an opportunity just to talk about kind of what it means and who people are and why they act the way they do.
And I just think in that sporting a- area, the most successful people are going to be people who are able to be completely in tune with who they are, who are not carrying anything.
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