WELLINGTON — United States ambassador to New Zealand Scott Brown was investigated and cautioned by the State Department about comments he made to women while on an official trip to Samoa, he revealed on Wednesday (Oct 25).

Mr Brown, a former Republican senator from Massachusetts who was nominated by US President Donald Trump as New Zealand’s ambassador in April, told Fairfax Media that he had been instructed to be more culturally aware after the July trip in which he called guests at a Peace Corps event in Samoa in July “beautiful”, and told a woman serving food and drink at the function that she could “make hundreds of dollars” as a waitress in the United States.

But he suggested his comments had been misinterpreted and that complaints about them had been politically motivated.

Mr Brown’s revelations come amid increased scrutiny of the behaviour of men in high-ranking positions towards women after allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment against the movie executive Harvey Weinstein.

Mr Brown, who was among the first leading politicians to endorse Mr Trump’s 2016 presidential bid, has been in his New Zealand posting since June. The US ambassador to New Zealand is also the envoy to Samoa, an independent state in the Polynesian islands.

This was not the first time Mr Brown had gotten into trouble for his actions towards women. In June 2016, he faced a sexual harrassment lawsuit brought by former Fox News host Andrea Tantaros. He was accused of making inappropriate comments and putting his hands on her lower waist.

​He denied the accusations.

In a short video statement released on Wednesday, Mr Brown, sitting next to his wife, said he had become aware through “rumor and innuendo” of media reports that there was an “administrative investigation” into his comments underway. Fairfax reported that the State Department sent investigators to Wellington, New Zealand’s capital, to interview people who were at the dinner, including the ambassador.

Suggesting his remarks at the event in Samoa had been addressed not only to women, Mr Brown said he had commented on attendees’ appearances because he saw the people before the event “and they were all dirty and grungy, and when we walked in, they were all dressed to the nines; they looked great”.

Mr Brown said he and his wife Gail Huff had both commented that attendees looked “beautiful” and “handsome”.

“Apparently someone took offence to that,” he said. “Fine. I did say that; Gail and I both said that,” he added.

Mr Brown said his comment to a female server that she could make a lot of money in the service industry in the United States was intended as a compliment because she was doing “a great job”, and was made in front of Samoan dignitaries in a room crowded with 250 guests.

“Somebody took offence to that as well,” he said.

Mr Brown’s characterisation of his remarks could not be independently confirmed. The US Embassy in Wellington said it had “nothing to add” to Mr Brown’s comments to Fairfax, nor would it give details about the State Department inquiry.

Mr Brown said that after the investigation, he was told he needed to be more culturally sensitive and aware, and that he “welcomed” the advice.

“I was told by my people, ‘Look, you’re not Scott Brown from Rye, New Hampshire, anymore; you’re an ambassador,’” he said.

“We are in a different culture, even though we all speak English,” Mr Brown said. “Sometimes when we say one thing, it means the complete different - whether it’s here in New Zealand or in Samoa.”

“So noted, and that’s it,” he added.

He also suggested the accusations were politically motivated, saying that politics was “a blood sport back home”, and that the event in Samoa had been attended by “plenty of people who didn’t like” Mr Trump.

The New Zealand television channel 1 News said Mr Brown’s Wednesday disclosure to Fairfax had been prompted by a three-week investigation into his behaviour by one of its reporters, during which he had declined to answer questions.

The television station reported that witnesses said Brown had behaved “obnoxiously” at the Samoa event.

“Would I say it again? Probably not,” Mr Brown said on Wednesday.

Mr Brown was a little-known state senator in 2010 when he won the Massachusetts Senate seat long held by Edward M. Kennedy, pulling off a surprising upset in the traditionally Democratic state.

He lost the seat to Ms Elizabeth Warren in 2012, and made an unsuccessful attempt in 2014 to get elected senator from New Hampshire.

In a Radio New Zealand interview soon after taking up the ambassadorial post, he defended Mr Trump’s record with women.

Mr Trump “addresses women on merit all the time”, he said. “He’s been very, very supportive of a lot of women’s initiatives.” THE NEW YORK TIMES