Patrick Kielty and Boy George in Controversial Interview
Patrick Kielty, a well-known presenter from the Irish state broadcaster, found himself at the center of a controversy after linking the Golders Green attack to the situation in Gaza during an interview with Boy George. The incident occurred on Friday night when Kielty was speaking with the pop star on RTÉ’s Late Late Show. He mentioned that the “backdrop” to the north London stabbings was “the horrors in Gaza,” calling it a “complex thing.”
This statement came just days after a tragic terror attack in Golders Green, where two Jewish men were allegedly stabbed by Essa Suleiman, a 45-year-old Somali-born British national. Suleiman appeared in court on Friday, charged with attempted murder of the two men, as well as trying to kill his friend of 20 years at an address in Southwark earlier the same day.
Boy George was in the Golders Green area at the time of the attack and described being left “in tears” after the stabbings of 34-year-old Shloime Rand and 76-year-old Moshe Shine. Following the attack, the star faced online abuse for his support of the Jewish community. On the show, he expressed his stance: “For me personally, growing up I have had so many beautiful Jewish friends and I still have. Being asked to turn against the whole race of people is not acceptable to me and I am getting a lot of abuse for it but I don’t really care.”
Kielty responded by stating that attacks on the Jewish community are connected to the “horrors in Gaza” and that it is a complex issue. He then reminded Boy George of his previous statements about violence never being the answer.
Boy George then asked the audience if they knew any Jewish people, which led to a moment of silence in the room. This moment was later criticized by Holocaust Awareness Ireland, who called the interview “extraordinary” and accused RTÉ of being “disturbingly unbalanced” in its coverage of Jewish people. A spokesperson wrote on X: “The silence represents a combination of fear that admitting such relationships publicly might cause difficulty and the reality that most Irish people don’t know any Jews.”
The spokesperson also highlighted the lack of empathy in Kielty’s comments about Jews. They noted that Kielty has been praised for his courage in confronting the sectarian murder of his father and engaging with the loyalist community in the North. However, they questioned how he could be blind to the persecution of another minority in London.
Kielty’s father was shot dead by loyalist paramilitaries in 1988 in Dundrum, County Down, where he grew up. Kielty previously shared his experience: “My dad died for nothing – he wasn’t a political figure, he wasn’t taking a stand. He had a building firm, he employed both sides. That wouldn’t be considered a stand anywhere else.” Three men were convicted in connection with the killing, but were freed after the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.
Following Kielty’s discussion with Boy George, a Campaign Against Antisemitism spokesman commented: “Boy George has been a steadfast supporter of the Jewish community in this difficult period, enduring online abuse for daring to stand up for this embattled minority. We are enormously grateful for his lonely voice standing up for Jews. What a contrast to Patrick Kielty, whose first reaction when Jews are stabbed on the streets of Britain is to reference Gaza.”
In September 2025, RTÉ announced it would not take part in Eurovision 2026 “if the participation of Israel goes ahead.” An RTÉ spokesperson stated: “On Friday’s Late Late Show Patrick Kielty addressed the Golders Green attack with his guest Boy George, who had witnessed the aftermath, as part of a wide-ranging interview. Patrick stated clearly, without qualification, that these attacks were ‘horrific’. He also said that the attacks took place against the backdrop of the horrors in Gaza. At no point did he say, nor would anyone reasonably infer, that there was any justification for the attacks whatsoever.”
They added: “As someone who lost his father to a terrorist attack, Patrick has always been empathic, measured and sensitive on such matters, which he was again on this particular show. Shortly after the Oct 7th attacks in 2023, Patrick signed off the Late Late Show with an expression of sympathy for the victims and a hope for peace that has since been viewed over 3 million times. On Friday’s show Patrick allowed his guest to share his experience and views in a sensitive and editorially appropriate manner.”
