The Block’s tradie walk-off perfectly demonstrates the shit women in charge have to deal with

I never thought I’d see a tradie from The Block be so blatantly disrespectful to contestants, but here we are. Following last night’s episode, one particular tradie has been getting a tonne of backlash — and validly so.

If you missed the ep, here’s the goss: Maddy and Charlotte are the new kids on The Block — literally — who’ve come in to replace Jesse and Paige (whose infamous exit was all the rage last week), and they’ve been met with one particularly hostile tradie named Zak.

Daily Mail had the lowdown, explaining that the tradie was being slammed online for his intimidating behaviour and for mansplaining what intimidation is. It all started when the tradie confronted Charlotte about feeling left out of the decision-making process, saying, “If I’m just going to be a glorified labourer, I don’t want to be here.”

The main issue stemmed from the fact that The Block contestants would chat to Nathan, a carpenter and Zak’s partner, instead as they found Zak to be intimidating — word of the day — and which, of course, made Zak feel some type of way.

“Me going to Nathan more over Zak is probably true in the sense, because I find Nathan a bit more approachable,” Charlotte explained to the show’s producers.

Then the conversation between Charlotte and Zak got more heated, with Zak comparing the workspace to a brothel, saying “It’s f*cked from asshole to breakfast.” Eventually, Zak left the site, planning to come back the next day.

I thought this was going to be a single-day debacle, but it ended up spanning over two. He proceeded to show up late the next morning and immediately, he pulled both the girls for “a chat” and continually spoke over their explanations.

He started off strong by saying, “Now, I get you feel intimidated. I can be blunt and straight to the point about things. That’s the way I work and that’s the way we get stuff done.” Super cooperative and willing to work things out, apparently.

“I don’t appreciate being called intimidating. I’m not, I’m quite an approachable bloke,” Zak continued.

Maddy responded by asking to be met halfway, aiming to provide a more collaborative approach, but Zak hit back with the most gaslighter-vibe apology I’ve seen on the show: “I’m sorry that you can’t handle the way that I talk.”

Charlotte immediately shut that down, and I’m glad she did.

In the end, Zak ended up spitting his dummy and claimed he no longer wanted to work with the girls, who tearfully apologised to Nathan who also had to leave the show. Crazy that Zak’s stubbornness, which stemmed from the fact that he was butthurt by the “intimidating” comment, led to his unwillingness to change or be helpful, let alone be respectful.

So, in a totally not intimidating and aggressive way (I’m being completely sarcastic), Zak told his workmate Nathan to “Pack it up, mate. Grab that sh*t.”

Maddy got quite emotional, crying as she explained her perspective to the producers, and I think she’s so real for this:

“I think being kind goes a long way. I’m not asking for the world. I’m just asking to be respected… and it’s not hard.”

“You cannot get work done with someone you don’t feel comfortable talking to.” Period, Maddy! It especially sucks that this happened to the show’s youngest contestants, ever.

This was just one example of a man who was so unwilling to work with female bosses that he chose to quit when they asked to be met halfway.

Fans had their back throughout and roasted Zak via X.

Aside from the passionate feelings from fans, I do think this is a step in the right direction if Zak and the girls couldn’t work things out. I’m excited to see these girls succeed this season with a brand-new tradie who’s willing to work with them and not against them.

Written by Nishika Sharma, who hopes Charlotte and Maddy’s next tradie is willing to collaboratively bring their ‘The Block’ vision to life. You can follow her at @nishikasharma_ on socials.

Image credit: Instagram + Punkee