RTE has insisted there is nothing wrong with their decision to cast a prostitute in its new reality series.
American-born Kate McGrew is a part-time sex worker – and is one of the six women who have been picked for RTE2’s Connected.
She – along with the other five women – were given cameras and filmed their lives over the past 10 months for the series, which begins tonight.
And Kate – who is now living in Cork will be featuring elements of her escort and pole dancing work, adding that it is an “aspect of my feminism”.
Prostitute: Kate will feature her sex job on TV show | RTE
But RTE insisted they did not pick the Ohio-born star – aka Lady Grew – for the show because of her job in the sex industry.
The State broadcaster added that they only discovered during filming that she worked as a prostitute to supplement her earnings.
They said: “The cast of Connected represent a diverse set of views on contemporary Irish life and the position and role of women in Ireland today.
“Kate was originally chosen as she is a working performance artist and is also a migrant into Ireland so she has an ‘outsider view’ of the country.”
In a statement, they added: “The broad debate around the issue of criminalising the purchase of sexual favour rather than selling sex is very much part of the current political and social discourse making this a very relevant issue to cover right now.
New series: Connected kicks off on RTE 2 | RTE
“Kate does not portray prostitution as a cost-free lifestyle choice but rather, one that she has reflected on.
“Kate is in a position to offer viewers a unique perspective on life at the coal face of the sex industry, based on her personal experiences of the realities of day-to-day involvement in prostitution and challenges the audience to ask questions of our own views on these important issues.”
In Ireland it is legal to pay for sex, but not to advertise or solicit – and Kate admitted the job isn’t for everybody.
She added: “If people feel like they are doing it because they have no choice that doesn’t mean sex work is bad.
“It’s because of issues like poverty or trafficking or direct provision, for example. They are the problem, not the sex work… It should be seen as legitimate work.”
