Dunedin City Councillor Jo Galer washed her dirty laundry in public, literally. Well, she didn’t exactly wash it, but she hung the entire load out during a televised council meeting.It happened on Monday when Galer dialled into a local government reform discussion from Glasgow via Zoom. One look at her camera feed, and the mayor gently suggested she reposition. Not for privacy, but to avoid the background: a bathroom with damp clothes left on the rail to air.
When the background steals the spotlight
On Monday morning, as the Dunedin City Council meeting started, Mayor Sophie Barker informed the rest that two councillors would be joining via Zoom. “We can’t see them yet. They are on the other side of the world, so it may take a little moment,” Barker said.Galer joined the call hoping to discuss council spending priorities and local government reorganisation, but the first thing anyone noticed was her backdrop, not her policy arguments. The councillor appeared to be joining the high-stakes meeting from her bathroom, with her laundry left in the background to dry.
The eventful meeting
The City Council meeting was quite eventful. It took just over an hour for the council to begin discussions about local government reform. Before they could really get to the heart of it, first-term councillor Benedict Ong was kicked out of the meeting for disorderly conduct. “You need to stop, Councillor Ong, or you need to leave,” Barker warned, before ordering him to leave.The discussions resumed, only to be derailed when Jo Galer joined via Zoom. “Can you hear me?” she asked. Mayor Barker responded immediately, “Yes,” and laughter erupted because Galer’s background was quite a sight. Barker tactfully suggested repositioning the camera before Galer could launch into her remarks. “You might want to move your camera,” Barker said. “We can see your washing.” But Galer was remarkably unbothered: yes, the laundry was visible, but she saw no problem with proceeding as scheduled.“Umm, OK… can you see me?” Galer asked, to which Barker replied that they could.Galer shrugged, as if it were no big deal, and added, “That’s great. You can see my washing; you can see me. That is no problem.”When her colleagues thought the awkward background laundry was the only thing they had to deal with, something else appeared on the screen.As Galer delivered her remarks on expenditure and government reform, something peculiar emerged in the video. Behind her, obscured by a frosted glass door, was a dark figure. The silhouette was distinct enough to prompt questions. Was someone inside the shower? Unbothered, Galer continued to discuss potential savings for ratepayers, as the mysterious figure remained behind the frosted door. At one point, a hand seemed to reach towards the glass before retreating, as if the person behind it had suddenly realised their presence was being broadcast to a public meeting.The video undoubtedly went viral, and netizens, of course, had a lot of questions. “Who was in the shower? Was it her partner? Was she holding someone hostage?”The incident has also raised questions for anyone working from home: how much of your life should your professional meetings reveal? For Galer, the answer was considerably more than she’d planned.
