Who would have thought that the Eurosong would cause such a drama?
Samantha Mumba hit back at the judging panel calling them “rude and vile” after their critics.
The judging panel that consisted of Ireland’s 2024 Eurovision entry Bambie Thug, celebrity chef and former Eurosong contestant Donal Skehan, 2FM broadcaster Laura Fox and Dancing with the Stars judge Arthur Gourounlian.
Donal hit back with a lengthy statement, writing: “I want to take a moment to address the comments made following Friday’s Late Late Show Eurosong panel. First and foremost, I want to recognise the passion, effort, and dedication that every artist brought to the stage, including Samantha Mumba.
“Representing Ireland on a global platform like Eurovision is no small task, and I have nothing but admiration for the courage it takes to put yourself out there. I understand that Samantha’s response is personal and comes from a place of deep emotion, something that is entirely understandable in such a high-stakes competition. However, tearing others down is never a good look, especially when everyone involved has worked to make the process as fair and constructive as possible.
“To insult the credentials of myself and my fellow panellists, Laura Fox and Arthur Gourounlian is completely unprofessional. Each of us was chosen for our experience, insights and passion for Eurovision. Everyone on that panel took their role seriously and approached the night with thoughtfulness, integrity, and respect for the artists.
“The reality is that Eurosong is ultimately about the strength of the song. While Samantha delivered a fantastic performance, the song itself simply wasn’t strong enough, a point that was reflected not just by the panel but by the public vote.”
He added: “As for the criticisms about my qualifications, I feel it’s important to address those directly. It might be easy to write me off as ‘just a TV chef,’ but my career began in music. I’ve had two number-one singles in Ireland with my band, Industry, supported acts like JLS and The Pussycat Dolls, and competed in Eurosong myself in 2008.
“I’ve also been a lifelong Eurovision fan, attending the contest in the 1990s and over the last five years, and I’ve watched its evolution into a modern, global platform that demands much more than just a good song. Today, success requires a fully realised creative package: staging, camera work, costumes, and a performance that resonates both live and on screen.
“As a panelist, my role was to provide honest and constructive feedback based on that knowledge and experience.”
He added that the comments were “never personal”, going on to say: “For anyone entering this process, l’d encourage them to engage deeply with the competition: study what has worked in recent years, understand the demands of the modern Eurovision platform, and come prepared with a song and vision that can stand out on an international stage.
“As I mentioned on the night, there is work to be done to create Eurosong as a standalone platform for established and emerging talent to reflect the standard across Europe. Ultimately, feedback and criticism are never easy to give or receive, but the goal has always been to support Ireland’s Eurovision journey.”
And it didn’t end there as Samantha responded on social media, writing: “Who would have thought a few aubergines would have caused such a scene? I’ll spare you all of the pages long statement but I really do want to make it clear – this was never ever about me not winning.
“That’s the nature of the business and this show’s format – I know that better than most. I feel 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. My stance on this won’t change.
“As I mentioned in my initial post, I wish Emmy the absolute best and will be cheering her on to bring Eurovision back to Ireland again!”
Samantha isn’t the only Eurosong contestant who has spoken to the judges.
Galway singer Caoimhe Glynn, who goes by the stage name Reylta, performed her song, Fire, on Friday night’s Late Late Show Eurosong special.
Speaking to Kieran Cuddihy on Newstalk on Monday afternoon, she said: “My experience was wonderful. I had such a good time with my competitors. It was such an amazing atmosphere, and the help that we got from all the people in RTÉ and all of our amazing teams, the only thing that brought it down and brought the mood down completely was the judges’ comments.
“I think a lot of people are seeing Samantha’s statement as like sour grapes or something, but I think Samantha is speaking on behalf of all of us, there were tears shed in the Green Room over comments, not my own, because I actually knew what was coming.”
She went on to say: “After Adgy’s performance first, I saw the comments, and I was like, ‘Okay, this is not going to go well for me’, so I’ve completely blocked that out. Even standing behind stage, I was like, ‘I’m blocking that out. I’m not listening to that’.
“So my friends and my family have told me what has happened, but I haven’t personally listened to it because it seems very hurtful, and they all seem to like a cheerleader effect, nearly hop on top of each other’s negativity and just make it more toxic as the show went on, like the comments about Niall’s dancers were so specific and hurtful to those dancers, they were in tears, and I had to go up to them be like, ‘don’t listen’.
“I just don’t think they should have had as much time to talk. I think they should have been a lot more diplomatic with their answers. They were just very targeted and severe in the way that they spoke.”
An RTÉ spokesperson said: “We are extremely grateful to the Late Late Show Eurosong panel for their professionalism, insight, integrity and good humour. Their role is to give their honest reaction to the performances on the night, offering their thoughts on the likely success of the song and act at the Eurovision Song Contest. Our panel did this in a thoughtful and considered way. It seems this was in line with the public vote that ultimately made the decision on the artist and song they wished to represent Ireland at this year’s contest.
“It’s never easy to offer a personal opinion, as not everyone will agree. Our panel did that with the utmost care and we wish to extend our thanks to them for the excellent job they did on Friday night.”
