Tommy Tiernan has defended himself over backlash he faced after asking Amy Huberman about her sex life on his RTE show.
RTÉ received 15 complaints following the episode of The Tommy Tiernan Show which aired earlier this year, in which the host quizzed the actor, who is married to former rugby star Brian O’Driscoll, about sex.
"Without incriminating the people that we live with, I wonder could we talk about sex?" the 53-year-old comedian asked.
Read more: RTE viewers cringing after Tommy Tiernan asks Amy Huberman very personal question about her sex life
Tommy went on to ask how her relationship with "physical intimacy" had changed from her 20s to her 40s, through marriage and motherhood.
After an awkward pause, Tommy jumped in, saying: "If it's an unfair question Amy, we can leave it."
While Huberman, 43, agreed to answer by discussing how important she feels human touch is in any relationship, some viewers were not impressed by the line of questioning and took to social media to complain.
Asked if the reaction was justified, the comic said: “Not in the slightest.”
“I asked Father Brian Darcy about sex. I asked 70-year-old Bob Geldof about sex. I’ve asked countless people about a subject that is an integral part of all of our lives, and just because a bunch of idiots take exception to me asking a woman about sex… I mean really? If you steer your ship by their star, you’ll very quickly end up shipwrecked,” he added in an interview with RTE Guide.
It comes as the star discussed controversial comic Gerry Sadowitz, whose show was pulled at this year’s Edinburgh fringe festival.
Noting the difference to his own encounters with controversy throughout his career, including some of his earlier Late Late Show performances, he said: “That’s different because my livelihood was never threatened.
“I was never stopped from putting on a show because venues feared the demon dogs of righteousness.
He added: “But if Gerry Sadowitz was playing in Galway tonight, I'd go see him. He’s an outlaw and pays a high price for his wildness: some of it self destructive, some ugly, and some just pure mischief.”
The busy star, who is gearing up for another new season of his popular RTE chat show to hit screens in January, as well as performing his live stage stand-up show ‘Tomfoolery’, and recording the hugely popular Tommy, Hector and Laurita podcast alongside his school pal Hector O'hEeochagain and Mayo woman Laurita Blewitt, has also been busy recently working on latest TV venture, ‘Tommy’s Epic West’.
The show sees him travel from Skellig Michael to the hills of Donegal to meet and chat to the likes of Kevin Barry, The Saw Doctors and Garry Hynes and explore the unique cultural identity of the West of Ireland.
Opening up about his own life in the west in the coastal village of Barna, Co. Galway, with his wife Yvonne, in a rare personal chat, he said: “I feel at home here.
“I’m not someone who finds relationships easy, but I am in awe of Yvonne.”
The father-of-six, who also has a three-year-old granddaughter, went on to delve into his life as a parent, and what it means to him.
He said: “John Moriarty [poet-philosopher] said that your job as a parent is to provide shelter for your kids whenever they come looking for it, whether that is physical, financial or emotional.
“That’s how I see my role as a dad.
“But it’s that eternal opportunity to be in a relationship with my children that gives me joy.
“There are six people in the world that I don’t need an excuse to hang out with or call when I’m away.
“Of course, there’s no guarantee there won’t be turbulence now and again, but it’s a constant calling.”
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