Mother of teen activist ’goes berserk’ after daughter is exposed as ’massive hypocrite’

News Corp columnist David Penberthy says the mother of a teenage climate activist from New Zealand has hit out at a radio host after an interview. Izzy Cook, a 16-year-old schoolgirl, spoke to NewstalkZB host Heather du Plessis-Allan and said flights to Fiji were not necessary – but when probed, Ms Cook admitted she had been to Fiji just months prior. “I actually thought the interviewer was being quite, sort of, almost maternal, like she was trying to laugh about it without crucifying this poor kid who clearly is a massive hypocrite,” he told Sky News host Chris Kenny. “Her mother has gone berserk and has now accused the radio station of cruelty and said ‘how dare my daughter be treated like that’.“ Mr Penberthy said if Ms Cook is going to be a “child prodigy” who wants to tell others how to live, it does “invite a degree of scrutiny”. “The fact that her mother belatedly turned to some kind of crazed helicopter parent,” he said.