Race backlash still stuns Devoy
Former squash world champ Dame Susan Devoy writes a book
Dame Susan Devoy has had a lengthy career in the public spotlight, becoming the squash world champion four times and more recently finding a new fanbase on two seasons of Celebrity Treasure Island.
But one of the most contentious experiences in Devoy’s life came in 2013 when she was appointed Race Relations Commissioner and immediately faced backlash like she had never experienced.
“It’s the only time I’ve wished for a different national tragedy, something that had happened to take me off the front page,” Devoy admitted to Paula Bennett on her NZ Herald podcast, Ask Me Anything. “I still to this day don’t know why it was so bad. I mean, I wasn’t naive, and I knew that it wouldn’t be universally [liked], and it may be an interesting appointment, but I didn’t expect the vitriol that followed.
“Was that because I was a Pa¯ keha¯ ? Was that because I was a woman? I think a lot of it’s to do [with the fact] that people just assumed that I was just a sports jock and had done nothing else in my life that would make me suitably . . . qualified for this position.”
Devoy said she enjoyed the role once she was able to dig into it, and building connections with different communities and being able to work together were “fantastic times”.
Her experiences in the public eye are a key feature of Devoy’s new memoir, Dame Suzy D: My Story,
reflecting on her life and career. She told Bennett she initially viewed this as a “name and shame” styled book, talking about the people who had “got up her snoz” over the years, but softened as she got writing.
“You will know what it’s like when you are being got at in the public space, you think the whole world is reading about you, what you did wrong. And the reality is that’s actually not true. I decided, what was that going to prove? That actually says more about those people than it does about me, and I’d end up being nasty and bitter like they were.”
Devoy does have room to dish on some of her recent experiences, such as her time on Celebrity Treasure Island. She initially appeared on the 2022 season, before going back a few months later for a “Fans versus Favourites” season, where she competed against one of her sons.
Describing the show as “a bit of pocket money”, she told Ask Me Anything the first season was difficult, because her role as a surprise “intruder” meant she was separate from the rest of the cast and didn’t get to bond with them when they were isolating in a hotel pre-shoot, which contributed to her seeming distant from them.
The second time around, Devoy said, she liked the people more and it was more fun overall. “Who wouldn’t have a wonderful time with Art Green and Lance Savali? I thought I’d died and gone to heaven.”
Despite that, she said she would never do it again, citing the lack of home comforts and food as a key factor in that.
“I hated it the first week. I cried and cried and cried and I just wanted to go home. But they’d made me captain so I couldn’t go home, I couldn’t send myself. And honestly, I would have given my right arm just to get out of there. And then those story producers, they’re magical. They puff you up and make you feel like you’re special and tell you you’re amazing and you can stay on.”
Looking ahead, Devoy believes she still has one other job in her. She’s also hoping all her children — she has four sons — will move back home to New Zealand at some point, but doesn’t think that’ll happen any time soon due to how divided the country seems. She is particularly concerned that race relations will go backwards under this Government.
“I just think we’re so negative. We’ve lost a lot of positivity, we just don’t seem like that great little country at the end of the world that punches well above its weight.”
Listen to the full episode for more from Dame Susan about her squash career, life in semiretirement, and her other worries for the future.
Ask Me Anything is an NZ Herald podcast hosted by former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett. New episodes are available every Sunday. You can follow the podcast at iheartradio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.