Prime Minister John Key's penchant for ponytails has been outed, with news of his bizarre hair-pulling incident making headlines all over the the world.

Key apologised on Wednesday after a young Auckland waitress wrote an anonymous blog claiming the Prime Minister had tugged on her ponytail numerous times over many months while frequenting the cafe.

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"Ponytail-gate" quickly went viral, with Key appearing everywhere from the New York Times to The Hindustan Times.

The New York Times began its story: "New Zealand's prime minister, John Key, has apologised to a cafe worker who accused him of a form of torment usually associated with playground bullies: hair-pulling."

CNN also went for the playground bully angle, in a story titled "New Zealand PM John Key embroiled in ponytail-pull furore".

Meanwhile the Washington Post headlined its story: "New Zealand's ponytail-pulling prime minister becomes national embarrassment", which included a list of Key's previous gaffes.

"As for the rest of the world? Many are reevaluating their complaints about their countries' politicians," the newspaper reported.

The Guardian also rattled off an extensive list of Key's "weirdest moments (so far)", including his Rugby World Cup fashion catwalk strut, his mocking of a radio broadcaster for wearing a "gay red top", and his posting a photo of his personal visit with the Queen in Balmoral. The Daily Mail accused Key of breaking protocol by revealing details of his royal encounter, and described him as a "galloping colonial clot".

Several media outlets, including the International Business Times, highlighted the detail in the blog post of Key's use of "scary, suspense sound effects, like the music from the movie Jaws" as he approached the waitress.

The Telegraph in Britain took a slightly kinder approach, reporting that critics were calling Key's behaviour "a bizarre lapse of judgment by a politician noted for his usually polished appearances in public".

