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The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) has said that RTÉ host Ryan Tubridy could have been “more careful in his choice of words” during a radio interview on women and makeup.
A complaint, which was rejected by the BAI, was brought against the presenter by a woman who said that his comments regarding Irish women during their June 29 show “were patronizing.”
The whistleblower said that Tubridy, speaking of women and girls with full-face makeup, “commented that the women looked more Irish the next day when their makeup was removed,” according to details released by the BAI on Wednesday. .
“The complainant is of the opinion that with the ongoing debate about the Black Lives Matter movement and the underlying racism in Irish society, such frivolous comments are unacceptable.
“The complainant is of the opinion that this comment unfortunately reinforces a racist perception that correlates lighter skin with beauty and alienates people with darker skin tones from the sense of Irish identity.”
In response, RTÉ said that the show focused on the skin problems of people who wore masks during the pandemic and that the interview “was lighthearted and in line with the audience’s expectations.”
“The broadcaster notes that the plaintiff is of the opinion that the presenter referred to people who seem ‘more Irish’, however, the presenter did not make this comment,” he said.
“The broadcaster claims that when talking about the amount of makeup Irish girls wear, the presenter commented that when they remove their makeup, ‘they look better, young and Irish.’ The announcer thinks that the interviewee and the listeners would have understood that the context of the observation referred to younger people who used excessive makeup “.
RTÉ added that “there was no connotation of racism” during the interview and does not believe that the discussion “can be interpreted as related to the underlying racism in Ireland”.
BAI’s compliance committee said Tubridy did not refer to anyone as “more Irish”, as the complaint suggests.
“When discussing the way young people wear makeup, the presenter noted a contrast between seeing these young people with and without makeup and commented that young people who do not wear makeup can look ‘better and young and Irish,” he said.
The BAI said it was of the opinion that Tubridy was offering her personal point of view on young people wearing makeup, rather than a comment on different skin tones.
“The Committee noted that this was a somewhat off the cuff comment, however, it is important that broadcasters are aware of the impact of the language and the Committee felt that the presenter could have been more careful in choosing the words.” added.
Niall Boylan and Covid-19
Separately, several complaints were filed against Niall Boylan for comments he made about Covid-19 during his radio show on Classic Hits 4FM in May. All complaints were rejected by the BAI.
One of those who complied said that the comments made by the presenter “encourage behavior, which is detrimental to public health and safety, particularly when discussing Covid-19.”
“The complainant is of the opinion that the comments made by the presenter undermine the government’s guidance regarding public health during the current pandemic,” the BAI said.
In response, Classic Hits 4FM said the Niall Boylan Show is a “controversial, listener-driven talk show” that has been running for more than eight years.
“The station believes that it has a longstanding audience expectation that the presenter will give his opinion on the issues that are discussed daily,” he said.
The broadcaster said it rejects the claim that Boylan encourages behaviors harmful to public health, adding that “rather, the presenter reiterated that everyone must follow the government’s guidelines regarding Covid-19 on various occasions.”
The BAI said it recognized the complainant’s concern that some views could misinform the public if presented as fact.
“However, he felt that the style of the presenter would be familiar to regular listeners and it was likely that the listeners would have understood that the presenter was offering opinions rather than factual information on the various topics,” he concluded.
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