When Graham Norton was asked if he thinks Ryan Tubridy is worth the money, he said he is “worth double the money”. Norton was commenting on the news that RTE staff have called for salaries at the station to cap at €207,590.
Norton was sympathising with Tubridy, who earns €495,000 per year, over the debate surrounding salary capping. If Tubridy was to have his salary capped, he would earn half of what he is currently on.
The Drag Race UK judge said that he believes Tubridy is worth a salary of €1 million.
He said: “I do feel sympathy for Ryan. I wouldn’t like to be him right now.
“Is he worth the money? I think he’s worth double the money!
“He has to be good if he’s doing the job and remember someone hired him for that job.”
The chat show host also spoke about how he wished he could have been in Ireland when legendary broadcaster Gay Byrne passed.
Byrne has been long praised for his approach to TV presenting and enjoyed a successful career from the first airing of The Late Late Show in 1962. During his time on air, he discussed topics which were rarely spoken about on television such as divorce, abortion and LGBT+ issues.
During the marriage equality referendum in 2015, Gay Byrne became a key figure for the Yes side. Throughout his career, he used his platform to shine an important light on issues facing the LGBT+ community. In 2016, he was nominated for GALAS LGBT+ Ally Award.
Norton told the Irish Sun: “I really wish I’d been in Ireland for Gay’s passing because in England people were aware of Gay Byrne but they didn’t know what he meant.
“And it felt like Ireland was where you needed to be.
“I spoke to my mum on the phone and she watched Gay’s funeral on TV. One of those moments when the whole nation came together as one.
“And it feels like you’re missing out – being outside Ireland – when you miss one of those things.”
© 2019 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.
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