Madeleine Chapman 
Madeleine Chapman strikes a pose and mixes up a storm on Spark’s All Access Pass experience at the Volume exhibition in Auckland. “I think you should retake that one.” Laughing hysterically while trying not to cry, I looked at myself superimposed on to a Rip It Up magazine cover. There I was, eyelids half-closed, as … Read more
Yes, I’m lazy, and yes, I was motivated by the spectre of Trump, but it’s still surprising that I found it easier to vote for the US presidency this month than in the Auckland council elections, writes Madeleine Chapman. I’ve done a lot of voting in my 22 years of life. When you grow up … Read more
It’s Saturday and all of a sudden people have realised that Halloween falls on a Monday this year. Nobody throws a party on a Monday, so now you need a kick-ass costume for tonight. Luckily, Madeleine Chapman is here to help. It’s hard to tell what’s worse: being the only one at the party with … Read more
Today marks the 10th anniversary of one of YouTube’s first viral videos. To celebrate, Madeleine Chapman looks back on 2006, the year of stellar YouTube content. October 12 has always been an eventful day in our history. On this day in 1492, Christopher Columbus reached land in The Bahamas. In 1773, America’s first insane asylum was … Read more
Disney have once again come under fire for cultural appropriation, this time for the release of their Maui costume for kids. Madeleine Chapman explains why it might not be so bad. Mulan is my favourite movie. Not my favourite Disney movie or even my favourite children’s movie. Mulan is my favourite movie, period. I’ve seen … Read more
Madeleine Chapman tunes into DUKE to watch their new sport chat show Short & Wide, and amazingly doesn’t find a particularly comfortable place for women. When TVNZ announced their new male-skewed channel, DUKE, at the start of this year, it was unsurprisingly met with disdain. But programmers were quick to note that it wasn’t a channel for … Read more
The Rio Olympics are over, but how can we keep up our medal run in Tokyo? Madeleine Chapman says we have to invest more into female athletes. The 2016 Rio Olympic Games were the first where New Zealand sent more female athletes than male to compete. Linked: it was also our most successful Games ever, with 18 … Read more
Madeleine Chapman recalls the moment she first laid eyes upon pole vaulter Eliza McCartney – a gangly kid who just capped an extraordinary rise to claim bronze in Rio. In 2013, while I was training in the javelin at the Millennium Institute in Albany, there was always a small group of athletes training in pole … Read more
The Block NZ held its most profitable auctions over the weekend. But while the four teams celebrated their record-breaking profits, Madeleine Chapman saw a housing crisis in action. There’s nothing like a bit of reality television to take your mind off the fact that you may never be able to afford your own home in … Read more
Māori Television premiered The Stage – Haka Fusion last week. Madeleine Chapman went along to the auditions and saw the bones of a potential dance revolution. In the past 10 years New Zealand has embraced reality television talent quests. New Zealand Idol, X Factor: NZ, New Zealand’s Got Talent, So You Think You Can Dance? All these shows … Read more
Getting upset at terrible refereeing calls is a Kiwi tradition. So why aren’t people foaming at the mouth in fury over the terrible calls in this morning’s Women’s Sevens gold medal game? I remember watching the 2007 Rugby World Cup quarterfinal between New Zealand and France. I remember the controversial calls from referee Wayne Barnes. … Read more
The Rio Olympics are about to officially get underway and what better way to celebrate than with a drinking game during the opening ceremony. The opening ceremony for the Rio Olympics begins on Saturday at 10:50am. It’s going to be a long affair, probably even longer than Batman vs Superman, and no doubt far more entertaining. With … Read more
The Intel Game Chamber was held in Sydney on Wednesday to showcase gaming and VR all run by Intel’s latest processors. Madeleine Chapman, a bad, almost-non-existent gamer, went along and tried not to get pwned. Grasping my brush tightly, I eased into a stroke, watching as bright orange paint was left in its wake, a beautiful exhaust … Read more
Nine years after the latest instalment in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has just had its embargo lifted and The Spinoff’s Madeleine Chapman has her hands on a copy. (Spoilers ████████████ aka redacted for readers’ safety). I remember when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows came out. I was in year nine and it was … Read more
Te Puea Memorial Marae has become the epicentre and symbol of Auckland’s homeless families. The Spinoff’s Madeleine Chapman spent a week volunteering there to compile this report. Photography by Qiane Matata-Sipu. The Warehouse has agreed to match all donations delivered through this story – scroll to the bottom for information on how you can help. Two teenage boys … Read more
It was the competition that captivated a nation. The busy working world of New Zealand ground to a halt as one tweet, featuring three identical, nondescript beanies, received 6,800 retweets and a bountiful supply of favourites. This is the oral history of the greatest online giveaway in New Zealand history, as told by key players. … Read more
It’s hard being a loner fan. Madeleine Chapman speaks of her struggle to find a single friend who still cares about Grey’s Anatomy. Contains spoilers, if anyone still cares. “Have you watched the latest Grey’s yet?” “Mad, I’m sorry to say that I’m not sure if I ever will.” That was it. On the 18th of December … Read more
After Max Key flagrantly and repeatedly copied her style, The Spinoff’s editorial assistant Madeleine Chapman was left no option but to hire legal representation in a bid to uphold the integrity of her personal brand. Mr Max Key St Stephens Avenue Parnell Dear Mr Key: The Spinoff Legal Counsel represents MISS MADELEINE CHAPMAN. If you are represented … Read more
The prime minister told reporters yesterday there are plenty of (relatively) affordable Auckland homes on TradeMe. Madeleine Chapman searched the site to see if he was right. Asked yesterday about Auckland’s average house price nearing the $1 million mark, John Key was as upbeat as ever: “If you go on Trade Me this afternoon and … Read more
New Zealand may finally be moving past its fixation on the All Blacks and Madeleine Chapman is bloody excited about it. This morning on Stuff, an opinion piece by Cas Carter mourned the impending loss of New Zealand’s identity as a rugby-loving country. “Our image as a hard core rugby loving nation is under threat,” … Read more
After Sunday’s devastating defeat to the Golden State Warriors, can the Oklahoma City Thunder come back to claim Game 7 in the NBA Western Conference finals? The outcome, writes Madeleine Chapman, may already have been spelled out in the final of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. While anyone who has ever gotten angry during a … Read more
Everybody wants to be like The Rock but what happens when you actually try and live like him? Madeleine Chapman was foolish enough to find out. Gym, movie set, movie set, gym, throwback Thursday, movie set, gym. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Instagram page is both inspiring and extremely repetitive. Whether it’s his known work ethic … Read more
Madeleine Chapman watches Sidewalk Karaoke, the new homespun singing competition by Māori TV. Sidewalk Karaoke, the latest release on Māori TV, is exactly what you would expect: karaoke sung on the sidewalk. Think Singstar on wheels. Think cracking highs when sober. Think shopping mall talent quest outside the mall. The budget is shamelessly sparse – no … Read more
Guy Williams likes reddit.com/r/newzealand, but reddit.com/r/newzealand does not like Guy Williams. He issued a challenge to its citizens this week: come and see my show. So they did, and Madeleine Chapman was there to watch it happen. “I totally get why people don’t like me. Like, when I watch LeBron James play, I want to see him … Read more
Madeleine Chapman and her Aunty Henga assess the skills, builds, and tattoos in Game of Bros, Māori television’s reality quest for the ultimate Polynesian warrior. The Game of Bros champion has been crowned after seven long weeks of baby oil, Ludus hoodies, and coconut cream. While the whole series has been primarily focused on the humour and silliness, this finale … Read more
Beauden Barrett is bad at kicking, but there’s no rule saying he has to keep doing it. Why can’t his teammates step up? The Hurricanes lost to the Chiefs on Saturday in what is being called one of the better games this Super Rugby season – I was there and do not agree. Beauden Barrett … Read more
Madeleine Chapman and her Aunty Henga assess the skills, builds, and tattoos in Game of Bros, Māori television’s reality quest for the ultimate Polynesian warrior. Last night was the penultimate episode of Game of Bros. The semi final. The final bend. That last spoonful of palusami before you’re left with the perfect ratio of taro and coconut cream. Sticking to … Read more
After witnessing two near tragedies in as many seasons of Our First Home, Madeleine Chapman has found the common cause. Our First Home is the tamest and safest reality show on television. Or so we thought. With the show’s second season coming to an end, Our First Home has seen two near tragedies play out on our television screens. I was … Read more
Madeleine Chapman and her Aunty Henga assess the skills, builds, and tattoos in Game of Bros, Māori television’s reality quest for the ultimate Polynesian warrior. On Wednesday morning I walked past Louis on my way to work and didn’t say anything. Moving on. Last night Aunty Henga was called away from the dinner table to “come watch your … Read more