Comedian Al Porter has said he paid a “high price” to learn lessons about his past actions, in a recent blog post five years after he faced allegations of inappropriately touching several men.
Writing in recent days, the 29-year-old said at the time his life had been a “runaway train” after his comedy career took off, which had left him “overwhelmed and unable to cope”.
In late 2017 the Irish edition of London-based paper The Times reported allegations from four men claiming they had been groped by Mr Porter on different occasions.
Amid the controversy Mr Porter resigned from radio station Today FM, where he had presented a lunchtime show, as well as roles on TV3 television show Blind Date and in the Olympia Christmas panto show.
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In his blog post, Mr Porter addressed the initial allegations of inappropriate touching, some of which had been made by others he had considered good friends.
“I was just 19 when we all met ... ... They said publicly that I had been inappropriate with them back then, some said that they laughed at the time, but they felt uncomfortable,” he wrote.
“I remember events differently and we remained in contact for years, messaging online and . ... socialising together in person. Although I started getting higher billing, and some bigger gigs, I was never in a position of power over anyone, despite what some people may have written,” Mr Porter said.
Mr Porter said he had contacted a number of those who had made public allegations seeking to send them a letter, and one individual responded, who he wrote to in 2020.
Addressing a separate incident, Mr Porter said he was involved in recording a charity radio show at St Patrick’s Hospital when he was 21.
“In 2017, a complaint was made to the hospital by a former service user. Following investigation, it was concluded that when we posed for a requested photograph outside as I was leaving, I kissed this person on the cheek, while putting my hand on his chest,” he wrote.
“That was uninvited and made him feel uncomfortable. I accept this and for that I was and still am genuinely sorry,” he said.
“Reflecting on that time in my life, from 19 to 23, it’s obvious to me now that I was hugely immature,” he said. The former radio presenter said he had been a “mess” in his personal life.
“I let my family and friends down. I let my partner down, who has been with me since before and through all this. I let my community down, Tallaght, the comedy scene and the LGBTQ community,” he said.
Mr Porter said he had paid a “high price” and learned lessons about his behaviour in “the most public wage imaginable”. He said he had “spent the entire second half of my adult life growing, learning and making amends where I could”.
“Over the years there’ve been offers to go back on stage, but I just wasn’t ready. I expected the time away to be shorter, and the lockdown years played their part too. Now, I’d like to make people laugh again,” he wrote.
In 2019, the comedian walked free from court after a charge for sexually assaulting a young man at a Dublin venue was dropped. The then 26-year-old, who had been charged under his real name, Alan Kavanagh, had denied the allegations.
