Television presenter Graham Norton has hit out at RTÉ over the Panti libel scandal, branding the organisation “gutless” and “absolutely moronic”.
In a candid interview with Hot Press, Norton slammed the national broadcaster’s decision to pay a substantial settlement to conservative Catholic lobby group Iona Institute over an accusation of homophobia made by Rory O’Neill, aka Panti Bliss, adding that he was enraged that his television licence payment was going towards such action.
“I’m not registered to vote in Ireland but I do pay the licence fee there and I’m fucking furious that some of my money has gone to these idiots,” he said.
He also directed his vitriol towards the ‘the lunatic fringe’ and ‘rats trapped in the corner of the barn’ that oppose gay marriage in Ireland and spoke about his experiences growing up in West Cork.
“I want to ask these people, ‘Why are you so scared and intimidated by the idea of gay marriage? There’s nothing positive in their life; what drives them is fear. They love using language – they’re ‘pro-this’ but actually they’re just against stuff. It’s a really horrible, sucking the joy out of life attitude, so you feel sorry for them,” said The Graham Norton Show broadcaster.
“I pretty much spend my entire summer near to where I grew up in Bandon. It’s such a different place. It takes pride in accepting all types of people. There’s more than 40 shades of green. This tiny minority can yell all they want, but it’s over. It’s all done. The Iona Institute, and people like that, are like rats trapped in the corner of a barn. They know the jig is up. That’s why they’re screaming so loud.”
There has been a widespread backlash to RTÉ’s decision, with Panti’s Nobel Call speech receiving over 500,000 views on Youtube and Norton believes that the incident will make a positive contribution to the campaign for equality in Ireland.
“I’m actually glad that these journalists and the Iona Institute exist. The great thing about extremists is that they drag everyone towards the centre. That’s why they exist. You hear their opinions and suddenly you’re a little bit more tolerant – because you don’t wanna be them!”
