Dame Lynda Topp at the Aotearoa Music Awards on Thursday.
Arts Minister Paul Goldsmith has brushed off criticism of the government at the Aotearoa Music Awards as the "same old cliché", after Dame Lynda Topp delivered an expletive-laden broadside over arts funding.
Goldsmith told RNZ he had no interest in "getting into a fight" with Dame Lynda, but rejected suggestions the coalition did not value the arts community.
"She's obviously had a difficult week, and we wish her all the best," he said.
"In essence, it was a standard music awards [ceremony], where someone always attacks the government, and that's how it always is."
