Former GAA player Joe Brolly has denied that a lewd gesture he made on a podcast was directed at “presidential candidates,” following criticism from Heather Humphreys, who called the act “very misogynistic”, reports RTE.
The controversy arose after a video clip from Brolly’s podcast began circulating online, showing him responding to questions from the media while making a gesture that mimicked a sexual act.
The video, taken from his podcast Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning, captures a moment where the two hosts liken the presidential race to “a nasty Rose of Tralee”, reports RTE.
Roughly five minutes into the podcast, the conversation turns to Fianna Fáil candidate Jim Gavin. Brolly then mentions a “her”, and while pretending to be a candidate fielding media questions, he performs the controversial gesture.
Campaigning in Wexford today, Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys addressed the incident, taking aim at Mr Brolly’s conduct, reports RTE.
She described it as “targeted at women”, adding that she would stand up for the women of Ireland.
Taking to social media platform X, Mr Brolly defended himself, stating: “The gesture – as is clear from the audio – had nothing whatsoever to do with the presidential candidates,” reports RTE.
He explained further that he “was making fun of the stock questions and responses that happen in a presidential campaign”, and called the moment “childish, crude and inappropriate”.
However, in an earlier message on the same platform, Brolly indicated that the gesture was made while discussing Fianna Fáil’s Jim Gavin, who recently exited the race, reports RTE.
“Just to be clear, on the podcast I was talking about Jim Gavin being unsuited to the insubstantial nature of the presidential campaign,” he said, reports RTE.
“It was nothing to do with Heather,” he added, reports RTE.
Mr Brolly concluded by acknowledging the misstep, saying the “action was in poor taste and should never have happened”, reports RTE.
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