Government Women MPs Rebuke Nekeisha Burchell Over Juliet Holness Podcast Comments

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Three female Government parliamentarians have publicly objected to comments made by People’s National Party representative Nekeisha Burchell about House Speaker Juliet Holness on an episode of The Fix podcast.

In separate statements, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, Fayval Williams and Juliet Cuthbert Flynn said they regarded Burchell’s comments as unsuitable and disrespectful to the Speaker of the House.

Burchell, while speaking on the podcast, took issue with the way the Speaker applies Parliament’s Standing Orders. She said: “The Speaker is she likes to be in control. And I mean that kind of control that perhaps you can get away with in a marriage if you want to control your husband, for example. You can’t control grown people sent to Parliament to represent their people. There is disorder and disrespect, but then there’s also control because, you know, it’s not a school mistress. That’s not a school mom with children in a basic school. We were all elected and sent there.”

Johnson Smith said the remarks caught her off guard and called them “retrogressive”. She stated: “I wondered if I read these reports correctly because I could not believe that in 2026, this is the type of comment being made by a female Member of Parliament.”

The senator said Jamaica has advanced in the area of women’s leadership, but warned that those achievements should not be weakened. Johnson Smith also referred to Juliet Holness as “an exemplary role model” and said she hoped Burchell would be counselled about what she had said.

Fayval Williams, the Member of Parliament for St Andrew Eastern, also rejected Burchell’s statements, describing them as “inappropriate, disrespectful, and downright low”. Williams said: “The country looks to Parliament for leadership. Ms Burchell’s remarks are disappointing and not befitting of the standards a parliamentarian should uphold.”

Cuthbert Flynn said women who hold leadership roles should not be portrayed negatively when they insist on rules and procedures being followed. “There have been only three women Speakers of the House,” she noted, adding that assertive women “should not be seen as bullies” or “controlling”.

In further remarks aimed at Burchell, Cuthbert Flynn said the attack on the Speaker was unjust and maintained that the Standing Orders of Parliament were being properly enforced.

On the same episode of The Fix, Burchell also spoke about responses from the public to her physical appearance, saying some people had asked to touch body parts they were unsure about. “All real. Yeah, we keep it real. But I’ve actually had people come up and ask me if they can touch it, the (body) parts they aren’t sure of. I have allowed some to touch it. Yeah, yeah, and it didn’t change anything for me. It was fine. I have on occasions allowed it. For the most part, it’s a no, but I have on occasions, especially for children, not underage, but children, younger people who are curious, especially young females who are like, ‘Do I have to do this to be successful?’” Burchell said during the podcast.