ANGRY WATERS STORMS OUT OF DUNPHY CHAT
COLUMNIST John Waters stormed out of an interview with Eamon Dunphy about the repeal the Eighth referendum calling him a ‘f***ing b ****** s’.
The journalist and No campaigner was appearing on Mr Dunphy’s The Stand podcast to discuss the abortion referendum when things got heated between the two outspoken men.
Mr Waters cut the podcast short and angrily swore at the sports pundit when he got annoyed over a line of questioning by Mr Dunphy.
The row erupted when Mr Dunphy asked Mr Waters about when he believed life began. When Mr Waters replied he believed it begins at conception, Mr Dunphy asked whether the morning-after pill could be seen as abortion using this definition.
After a back and forth between the two men, Mr Waters said: ‘This is typical of the kind of media attempt to turn this in to something else, to talk about hard cases, to make fudgy kind of philosophical arguments, which will delay and frustrate and confuse the people about something that is absolutely so clear... so clear. We are talking about whether or not we want to walk in to a polling booth, pick up a pencil, put on a black cap and condemn hundreds of thousands of children to death to the rest of your life every day, every day, every day. That’s the question.’
The heated debate between the pair continued with Mr Dunphy asking his interviewee to let him ‘tease it out with you’ and claiming ‘you are trying to bully me now’ before Mr Waters stormed out.
‘We have 40 minutes to do an interview about this so can we talk about the issue or else I am going home. I am fed up of this,’ said Mr Waters, just over 12 minutes into the discussion.
Mr Dunphy asked Mr Waters not to go but he replied: ‘You told me this would be a fair interview. It is not a fair interview. You’re a b ****** s. You’re a f***ing b ****** s, you can f*** off.”
And as Mr Dunphy declared that he was a No voter, Mr Waters said: ‘F*** off. Talk to Una Mullally.’ Irish Times journalist Ms Mullally appeared in a second podcast posted by The Stand speaking for the Yes side of the campaign.
Mr Dunphy began the recording by telling listeners he has been a close friend of Mr Waters for many years. He said he decided to post the interview in full despite the abrupt ending and asked his listeners to make up their own mind on the disagreement.
Mr Dunphy has since told thejournal.ie that he is in fact an undecided voter and would either be a reluctant Yes or a reluctant No.