New Zealand council has fired the only official Wizard in the world.
Gatekeepers News reports that the city of Christchurch ended the contract with the state-appointed wizard, Ian Brackenbury Channell, after 23-years of service.
Channell is being paid $11,280 each year and earns $368,000 on a tax-free status.
The development is believed to be connected to his comment about women.
“I love women, I forgive them all the time, I’ve never struck one yet. Never strike a woman because they bruise too easily is the first thing, and they’ll tell the neighbors and their friends … and then you’re in big trouble,” the wizard said in April on “New Zealand Today.”
Channell, who has been a big tourist attraction for the city and was declared a living work of art by the New Zealand Art Gallery Directors Association in 1982, has not been present in the city as much in recent years.
He said the council wouldn’t listen to suggestions to improve tourism and was also told he doesn’t fit “the vibes” of the city anymore.
“It’s just they don’t like me because they are boring old bureaucrats and everyone likes me and no one likes them,’’ he said.
Council spokesperson Lynn McClelland said the wizard was sent a letter thanking him and saying he will “forever be a part of [Christchurch’s] history.”
