POET CATHAL Ó Searcaigh has said he pulled out of last Friday's Late Late Showon RTÉ television because he would have been denied a "fair and unbiased" hearing.
In a statement, Ó Searcaigh said RTÉ's decision to pre-record the interview would have "become so restrictive and controlled that my interview would only serve to maintain the illusion portrayed by the Fairytale [of Kathmandu]documentary, part-funded by RTÉ".
Ó Searcaigh was first invited to appear on the show after the broadcast of Fairytale of Kathmandulast March in which he was confronted with allegations that he had sexually exploited young Nepalese men. In the documentary, Ó Searcaigh admitted having sex with men in Nepal, but denied they were underage or that the activities were anything other than consensual.
On Friday, Late Late Showresearchers informed Ó Searcaigh that the interview would have to be prerecorded. Ó Searcaigh said he had agreed that two independently-recorded interviews given by a number of young Nepalese men would be aired. The interviews would refute claims made in the "biased and contrived" documentary, but RTÉ had decided last Tuesday not to broadcast them.
“I was prepared to address the content of these interviews and answer a number of questions raised mainly by the press and media,” he said. “RTÉ, as a State-funded body, has a responsibility to support and broadcast fair, truthful programmes by offering an equal opportunity of reply.
“Despite this and other evidence, I realised that I was not going to be afforded a genuine right of reply, so I withdrew.”
Fairytale of Kathmanduwas made by the poet's neighbour, Neasa Ní Chianáin, who had set out to record Ó Searcaigh's charitable work with the poor in Nepal, but she gradually became disillusioned by his relationship with a number of young Nepalese men.
Ó Searcaigh alleged there had been a late intervention by Ms Ní Chianáin’s production company Vinegar Hill and others in an attempt to block him telling his side of the story.
An RTÉ spokesman said “categorically” that there was no attempt by the documentary makers to influence the proposed interview. They had been told as a matter of courtesy last Thursday that he would be appearing, and had raised no objection. The broadcaster stood by its decision not to allow a live interview. “We do not agree with the substance of his feelings that a pre-recorded interview is an unfair interview. We simply thought it was prudent to prerecord the interview given the complexities and sensitivities involved,” the spokesman said.
