Marty Guilfoyle has hit back after a troll “joked” that he had been with an underage girl in college.
Earlier this week, the radio DJ addressed the controversy surrounding him joining “Ireland’s first TikTok house” – as some people pointed out the age gap between Marty and some of the younger members.
On Saturday, Marty took to Twitter to share an interaction he had with a social media account – after they claimed a tweet that they wrote suggesting he had been involved with an underage girl was a “joke”.
The Spin 1038 host admitted he hit back at the troll, stating: “I tried not to, but I caved.”
I tried not to, but I caved. I saw a tweet implying I was with an underage girl while I was in college. I responded and he panicked saying it was a 'joke' . These 'jokes' are not funny. They're sick! Passing your shitty tweets off as 'jokes' is bullshit. pic.twitter.com/D9QIekITTj
— Martin Guilfoyle (@MartyGuilfoyle) September 5, 2020
“These ‘jokes’ are not funny. They’re sick! Passing your shitty tweets off as ‘jokes’ is bullshit.
“I have since deleted the thread because at least one person has learned that there’s a real human reading all these tweets. Not everyone is strong. Your words can seriously hurt someone.”
In the messages, the social media account apologised to Marty for writing the “insensitive” and “dumb” tweet – admitting that he “didn’t think how much it meant” until Marty replied.
I have since deleted the thread because at least one person has learned that there's a real human reading all these tweets. Not everyone is strong. Your words can seriously hurt someone.
— Martin Guilfoyle (@MartyGuilfoyle) September 5, 2020
The news comes after Marty faced major backlash for joining nine other TikTok stars in Ireland’s first TikTok house – including Shauna Davitt, Andrea Camila, Lewis Kelly, Thomas Arnold, Jake Brown, Ryan Mar, Lauren Whelan, Leila Ecker, and Nia Gallagher.
Responding to the backlash in a statement posted on social media, Marty confirmed he has since left The G.O.A.T House, as he addressed the nasty comments he’s received online.
Marty wrote: “Around two weeks ago, I was invited by someone my own age to join a collaborative TikTok project inspired by ones like it in the UK and America.
“Whether you’re familiar with with TikTok or not, it’s responsible for the biggest shift in music distribution in the last decade, and it can make or break a career. You might only know me as a radio presenter, but my passion is my own music.”
Please read ❤️
I promise it's nothing to do with being a vegetarian. pic.twitter.com/7bTSD6ZOdD— Martin Guilfoyle (@MartyGuilfoyle) September 4, 2020
“The project sounded like a bit of fun, but if it went well it could have a huge impact in my work. There’s still lots of room for innovation around TikTok, so even if it came to nothing at least I’d get to meet some like-minded people in that space,” he continued.
“When I signed on I had no idea who was going to be in the house with me, and I took a leap of faith. Fast forward three days and suddenly I’m the number one trending topic in the country, which absolutely wild to me – it’s a content collaboration project, and it’s not like there’s nothing else going on in the world.”
“Maybe you think it’s stupid. Fine. Maybe you think I’m stupid. Fine. I can take a slagging as well as the next guy. But what’s really upset me are suggestions that signing on for a work project with a group of adults was somehow weird or even predatory,” Marty wrote.
“Like I said, I can take a slagging, but not everyone can, and especially not to this extent. At this stage, my concern is that it might start to affect other people involved, so I have left the house and no longer have any connection to the project.
“I wish everyone there the best of luck, I hope they have an amazing time, and I can’t wait to see what comes out of the collaboration,” he added.
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