By 3 News online staff
After his gay rights speech became viral, National MP Maurice Williamson has been given the green light to appear on the Ellen De Generes show.
After an issue over ministers not being allowed to be paid by a talk show, Prime Minister John Key has now said that Mr Williamson can go on the show, as long as any fee is donated to charity.
Mr Williamson's speech, made on the night the same-sex marriage bill passed into New Zealand law, has been viewed more than 1 million times on various websites, and garnered attention from US news sites and talk shows.
This morning Mr Williamson tweeted he "would love to" appear on De Generes' show "if it can be arranged".
"She is awesome - a real inspiration to us all."
Last week Mr Williamson was a little overwhelmed by the attention his speech was getting.
"I feel a little bit like 'Gangnam Style' now – what am I going to do for an encore?" he said on Firstline on Friday.
But he was laughing about US newspapers calling him "one of New Zealand's only openly gay MPs".
"That's not quite true, my wife wanted to know whether the New York Times knew something more than I did."
The Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill passed with 77 votes in favour to 44 against.
3 News / RadioLIVE
source: newshub archive
