Author J.K. Rowling has defended choreographer Ian Banham, who was sacked by Eurovision hopefuls Wild Youth for his recent social media comments.
A row erupted this week after the band were made aware of tweets sent by their creative director Mr Banham, who reacted to various stories about transgenderism and Ukraine’s victory at the Eurovision.
One particular tweet caught the band’s attention when Mr Banham dismissed a violent rapist who identified as a woman, with singer Conor O’Donohue describing feeling "sick" when he read them.
READ MORE - Wild Youth star 'sick' over remarks made by band's Eurovision creative director
But Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has come out in support of Mr Banham this morning – saying Wild Youth’s "so-called kindness and inclusivity" was "preening, self-satisfied misogyny".
Rowling tweeted: "The re-traumatisation of female rape survivors, including this man’s victims, on seeing him called a woman by the press counts for nothing, naturally. The so-called kindness and inclusivity of @bandwildyouth is preening, self-satisfied misogyny. #IStandWithIanBanham."
She went on to point out to her followers the reason Ian was fired by Wild Youth in another tweet, retweeting the image shared of Ian reacting to a violent rapist convicted of stabbing and tying up a victim.
"For those confused as to why Ian Banham was fired and publicly lambasted by @bandwildyouth, here’s one of his ‘horrifying’ tweets. His crime is standing against the insanity of pretending knife-wielding rapists are women if they say they are."
Replying to an account called ‘End Wokeness’ that shared a story, with the headline ‘Woman jailed after stabbing and tying up victim – BBC News’, which was posted on the BBC News Twitter account, Mr Banham wrote: "Exactly! It’s a Man! This clown world is ridiculous."
In a statement on Monday, Wild Youth wrote: "Wild Youth is a band that stands for unity and kindness.
"Our song represents our beliefs as a band,” the statement continued.
"We have cut all ties with Ian Banham and will not have him on or near our team or Eurovision journey.
"We are so sorry for anyone offended by his comments.
"And just to note we were with @michaelkealy1 and both himself and @rte were as horrified as we were," the band added.
Conor separately wrote about his horror at reading Ian’s comments.
He said: "First off, I want to apologise with my whole heart to anyone who has been hurt or even had to read such horrible tweets.
"He goes against everything I stand for, his tweets make me feel sick reading them.
"Writing this song and writing these lyrics was writing about what I believe in.
"Acceptance Unity and kindness. Ian will have nothing to do with Wild Youth on our Eurovision journey.
"Again, from the bottom of my heart. I’m sorry to anybody who had to read these tweets and was affected by them.
"Thank you to the @ESCdiscord for bringing this to our attention."
In another comment, which is being circulated on social media, Mr Banham wrote, "It’s a for sure a CULT," under a post by another Twitter user that said: "Non-Binary Woman identifies as a Hawk."
The dancer – who has previously worked on hit shows such as Dancing with the Stars and Dancing on Ice – has yet to respond to being fired by RTE and the band just weeks before Ireland are set to take to the stage in the first semi-final on May 9.
He has since made his Twitter account private.
A spokesman for RTÉ said: "Ian Banham is no longer a member of Ireland's Eurovision 2023 team.
"RTÉ won't be making any further comment."
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