RTÉ presenter Ryan Tubridy has been forced to back off after calling McDonald’s ‘McFilth’ live on his RTÉ Radio 1 show this morning.
Tubridy made the comment about the fast food chain when speaking of singer Mariah Carey who, he said, “felt that she owned the trademark for the expression ‘all I want for Christmas is you’,” reports Independent.
Tubridy argued that the Christmas text is a “array of words” and no one could own “all of that”, adding: “Like, if you say ‘I’m lovin’ it, I go ‘okay well that’s McFilth, so I know what that is’, or McDonald’s. Sorry, I call it that for a joke, I love a Big Mac,” reports Independent.
Mr. Tubridy immediately responded to his comment, stating that he has nicknames for various similar restaurants and that he was speaking “in jest”.
“I say it because I feel guilty when I ever have it… Okay ah, it’s like Eddie Rockets, Sir Edward’s. Like, I have nicknames for all these things. Oh no, okay, alright, oh dear, okay. Well, that’s the way it is, isn’t it? Okay, Mariah Carey lost that case, I’m probably going to lose a case too. As I say, it’s jest. Alright, alright, alright, alright; that story is not as interesting as I had hoped, that’s my fault,” he said, reports Independent.
In a statement to Independent.ie, an RTÉ spokesperson said: “Listeners will of course understand this comment was in jest – as Ryan has already stated he loves a Big Mac.”
According to the most recent data from Joint National Listenership Research (JNLR), which was released last week, The Ryan Tubridy Show has 344,000 daily listeners, however, that’s 25,000 fewer since August.
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