RTE and The Saturday Night Show have issued an official apology to John Waters, Breda O’Brien and the Iona Institute after Rory O’Neill (Panti Bliss) suggested that they were homophobic on the show two weeks ago.

Presenter Brendan O’Connor stated on air last night (Jan 25, 2014):

“Now on the Saturday Night Show two weeks ago, comments were made by a guest  suggesting that the journalist and broadcaster John Waters, Breda O’Brien and some members of the Iona Institute are homophobic. These are not the views of RTE and we would like to apologise for any upset or distress caused to the individuals named or identified. It’s an important part of democratic debate that people must be able to hold dissenting views on controversial issues…”

Rory O’Neill posted the video clip to the official fan page of his drag persona Panti Bliss, with the comment, “Seriously? I wouldn’t insult invertebrate species by calling this ‘spineless'”.