Irish Eurovision band sack team member for saying a male rapist is not a woman

[Xoxoxoxoxoxox]

Ian Banham - the creative director for the Irish Eurovision Song has been sacked by the other band members because he wrote a tweet calling out the press for referring to a male rapist as a ‘she’.

The band have issued this statement:

Wild Youth is a band that stands for unity and kindness. Our song represents our beliefs as a band. We have cut all ties with lan Banham and will not have him on or near our team or Eurovison journey. We are so sorry for anyone offended by his comments.

They are in effect sacking their band mate and they defending a rapist’s right to be called she’ and they say they stand for ‘kindness’.
There is a backlash, I wonder how much support they will get for this.

https://twitter.com/bandwildyouth/status/1650833255266934784?s=46&t=KoykWa-IFitZMrteWP2pKA

I've heard it said that Ireland looks like it transferred its allegiance from one religion that hates women to another religion that hates women. In the new one though, you can get to join the priesthood without bothering with the faff of going to priest school for years and staying celibate.

Got to be honest. I'm just not getting woman hating misogynist vibes from the guy.

And it turns out that his 'anti-Ukraine' tweets were that he thought Sam Ryder should have won the Eurovision last year. Which he probably should have, tbh.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · Today 09:49

If Ian was the creative director, does that mean that all rights to the production and choreography of the act belong to him?

I was wondering about that and if he'll decide to stop them from using his material. That would be an amusing twist.

They will lose the Eurovision TRA vote and not make it out of semi final 1?

They have every reason to be this worried. Some one might notice they are a sub par U2 wanna be rip off full of very straight looking white dudes which sticking a gold mask over your face doesn't hide.

Plus the running order puts them on just before Croatia. And OMG Croatia's entry is going to make them look bland by comparison and is the one ticking all the Eurovision queer boxes.

It's a pretty shit draw for Ireland tbh. Though they are lucky they are in the weaker final.

They are definitely better thinking it's the taking part not the winning that counts.

Being Kind is telling the truth gently. But we aren't allowed to tell the truth properly and have to accept weasel words that allow you to say a man in a dress is a biological woman because he thinks that way. Biology, innit? Thinking, like?
It's Labour's 99.9% bollocks.

And so I'm not going to be kind but I am going to be truthful,

I love how much you know about Eurovision

that is all

And it turns out that his 'anti-Ukraine' tweets were that he thought Sam Ryder should have won the Eurovision last year. Which he probably should have, tbh.

I gathered that his complaint was that people voted for Ukraine in Eurovision last year as a show of support rather than because they thought it was the best song.

Which Is true.

Though geopolitical voting in Eurovision is hardly new.

Yes, because that's exactly what happened. The Ukrainian song was decent but it won because people gave them sympathy/solidarity votes.

@RedToothBrush Well thanks for making me google the Croatian entry. If not for The Amazing Atheist's banana it might have been my wtf internet moment of the week!

I do not recommend investigating the banana. It's nsfl!

😁 I see what you did there. Glinner too?

I gathered that his complaint was that people voted for Ukraine in Eurovision last year as a show of support rather than because they thought it was the best song.

I can completely see why people did seize on this as an opportunity to show their support; but I can also see why those working hard in their efforts to compete would have felt aggrieved by this. It's perfectly possible to support Ukraine in their plight whilst also not wanting to give away something unconnected that you've worked hard for. I think banning Russia was probably sufficient to make the point.

Can you imagine if we'd done the same with sports tournaments in the same year: have the strongest players/teams throw the game or convince the judges to change their standard criteria to ensure that Ukraine were the token winners of everything? Of course, this would also mean that any Ukrainian competitors who WERE the best and rightly deserved to win any particular event would then have their achievements overshadowed.

I think it maybe came from a kind place, but was somewhat misguided - and I'm not just saying that because it pushed our chap into second place on this occasion.

I see what you did there. Glinner too?

Yes, d'oh, of course! They're clamouring to make a success of the Ted musical, just as long as they can get Glinner to dissociate himself from it - but they're more than happy to profit from his creative genius, just as long as they can deny him any credit for it.

'Mama ŠČ'!?

Bitchka Materina. That is fucking awful.

I also recommend Austria's 'Who the hell is Edgar?' for its gloriously good Eurovision weirdness.

I am about to have my annual pre-Eurovision bing as I haven't had chance to sit and work out who else is worth watching yet.

I am that sad.

Tbh for Ireland to get much publicity at all ahead of the final, they've been lucky to find a way to create a bollocks excuse of a scandal to grab some headlines.

I like U2 rather a lot (understatement) and guitar bands have long been my thing - way before my Eurovision obsession. But this entry just looks tired and dated in the midst of a bunch of Eurovision tracks.

The worst bit is that this sacking doesn't even look like a virtue signaling move to me.

It smacks more of a contrived PR stunt to get some airtime because the Irish entry has been so far lacking in this, and getting awareness up around Europe ahead of the semis has now become part of the competition in order to drive up votes.

In this sense it feels more Nike/Bud Light than a genuine concern about trans support. Especially when you consider they are standing by a bloody rapist. Which didn't exactly do well for Nicola either. It's like they've gone 'ooo so how do we say we are all rainbow flags to the core audience?'

I feel like I'm coming to a point of 'trans marketing cynicism' where you can't actually genuinely distinguish between unthinking robotic mantras about being kind and manufactured faux outrage for clicks and brand awareness.

If I'm feeling like that, and it starts to spread, with audiences feeling like it's insincere crap being shoved down your throat, it won't take long for the pr gurus to grasp that this sales pitch has passed its peak and is no longer having the desired positive effect.

I have to say, no disrespect to Ireland, but I'd love their entry to tank this year for this reason now. I don't think it will do well regardless mind.

I'm on the fence as to whether I think it will get through semi 1. The line up doesn't have many obvious stand outs. I suspect because the Irish entry is different as the sole guitar band in its semi it will probably just edge through, but guitar bands have a track record of bombing with the Eurovision audience and rarely do well. Especially mediocre ones.

If it does make the final, I expect it to be firmly on the right hand side of the board near the bottom with a desperate look towards the UK to get some points in the bank. And Wild Youth will never be seen outside Irish university campuses ever again.

They've apologised to the rapist community?

Lordy, the Croatia song is like a bad migraine.
So if Ian removes his creative direction, does that leave the Wild Youths having to sing in rocking chairs Val Doonican styley?

They really should have gone with John Lydon...

The Irish still have a patriarchal society as do most religious countries. The boys inherit the farms, male birthright and privilege is still a subconscious historical and cultural belief.
Universities, the law and the church are male orientated.

That looks fake. Very fake. Maybe it's real but it looks like a very, very bad mock-up.

I beg to differ. It's musically awful but creatively its genius.

It's basically a slur of Putin doing what the Last Leg did over the Sochi Winter Olympics. But on stereroids.

It talks about making tractors, being a little psychopath, being popular with grannies, starting a war and using nukes as a willy replacement. And very 'queer' costumes underneath the fake russian uniforms.

With a shitty easy dance.

It's pure Eurovision.

I hope it makes the final purely because I'm likely inviting my mate round who is incredibly straight laced and I want to see his face when it comes on!

Will I be castigated for saying that Wild Youth look anything but young?

Well, okay, but my point was largely that the singer can't sing and the dancer can't dance. The tune's shit and the costumes are awful.

Call me old fashioned.

Eurospinaltap.