‘If people can give their opinion on TV, surely I can give my opinion on Instagram' – Samantha Mumba stands by Eurosong comments

Irish Independent

10 hours ago

She admitted she was a 'bit surprised' that her Instagram post had generated the reaction it did when she hit out at the panel of commentators after the show.
Her song My Way was not selected to represent Ireland at the Eurovision in Basel last month.
The competition was won by Norwegian singer Emmy (24) and her song Laika Party, which ultimately failed to qualify for the Eurovision grand final last month.
The Irish entry ranked in the bottom four contestants in the the semi-final, receiving just 28 points.
Mumba generated a social media storm when she criticised the panel – with the exception of previous Eurovision entry Bambie Thug – for not having the 'credentials, experience or professionalism required' to take on the role. She also made some other remarks, including her 'parting gift' to the panel, which was 'a bag of [emoji] to slowly choke on'. The emoji Mumba used was the aubergine icon.
Donal Skehan, who was on the panel alongside radio presenter Laura Fox and dancer Arthur Gourounlian, called the comments 'completely unprofessional'.
Mumba said in a follow-up post that her comments were 'never about me not winning' and that she felt strongly that the panel were 'dismissive of all the contestants, which was disappointing given the amount of work and passion we all put into our performances'.
Speaking to RTÉ Radio One's Brendan O'Connor Show this morning, the singer said it was 'a very, very personal thing' for her to enter the competition and she wanted to step out of her comfort zone.
'So even doing that, and doing a song competition, isn't something that I had on my bingo list at 42 at all."
She said it would have been 'ego' to believe she should not have been competing in a contest, adding: 'And it's a song competition, and I wouldn't want to represent Ireland with a song that Ireland didn't want either or do something.'
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She said: 'I think fair is fair, and I think if that's the process, then that's what it was.
"And honestly, I was just proud of myself for doing it because it definitely wouldn't have been something that I would've been necessarily even thinking I would have the balls to do it, if I'm being totally honest, like, a few years ago. No, I loved the process of all of it."
On whether she was surprised about the reaction her post on the process received, she said that 'everybody's entitled to an opinion'.
"And I was a bit surprised - that wasn't even the focus. Like, I think I just... What I wrote was just at the end of the post. The focus of the post was actually just thanking everybody on the team who'd worked so hard on it.
"I didn't see what the big deal was."
She added that she is not on social media very often so was not aware that the post would generate the reaction it did.
"But I mean, I certainly stand by what I said. I don't take it back.
"I think, you know, fair is fair, if people can give their opinion on national television, surely I'm allowed to give my opinion on my own Instagram page. I think that's fair."
The singer also said she believes the Eurosong should be separated from the Late Late Show into a separate programme.
"I love the variety of it. I love kind of the process that it's open to everybody," she said.
"I think if I had one immediate one, I would think that it should be its own show, and it definitely should be televised in a music venue that is set up for singers."