The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) has partially upheld a complaint made against RTÉ 2FM’s Eoghan McDermott.
The radio presenter is being scolded over asking RTÉ’s Director General, Dee Forbes, who she would like to kick in the testicles during an interview on his RTÉ 2fm show in March.
Ciaran Bouse complained that the comment was “insensitive and was unjustified” and “offensive and discriminatory towards men and was of the view that it promoted violence against men”.
The complainant also felt that Dee Forbes should have “corrected the comment”.
In response, the broadcaster insisted that Eoghan’s question was part of a long-running feature on his drivetime show.
The BAI said: “The specific question that was the subject of the complaint has been posed to both male and female participants in the past and the broadcaster states that it is intended to entertain.”
“The broadcaster acknowledged that the phraseology used did not meet the complainant’s standards. The broadcaster recognises the importance of its role and its duties to ensure persons and groups are treated with respect and dignity irrespective of gender.”
“The broadcaster states that it never intended to cause offence but acknowledged that offence has been caused in this instance.”
In conclusion, the BAI decided that Eoghan’s question was not “unduly offensive” or discriminatory to men, but that the specific wording “was not justified”.
They said, “While the Committee noted that this is a recurring segment in this programme, which is clearly intended to be light hearted, it determined that the question and the specific wording used, i.e. the reference to kicking a man in the testicles, was not justified. As a result, the Committee decided to uphold this element of the complaint.”
