HOW US ROCK BAND RUINED NIGHT FOR LEO

Taoiseach tackled on abortion and insulted on Twitter by NYC band after concert

TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar was left red-faced after a backstage meeting with an American rock band resulted in a protest and heated exchange over the Eighth Amendment.

The incident on Friday night led to Mr Varadkar being described by a member of the hugely popular band, LCD Soundsystem, as a ‘t***er’.

It happened on the eve of a large pro-choice march on the streets of Dublin, with tens of thousands taking to the streets after it was confirmed that a referendum on the Eighth Amendment will be held next year.

The Taoiseach attended the concert in Dublin’s Olympia Theatre with an entourage that included Finance

Minister Paschal Donohoe and Mr Donohoe’s wife; European Affairs Minister Helen McEntee, and TD Tom Neville and his partner, Fair City actress Jenny Dixon.

However, when the group went backstage to meet the band, Mr Varadkar was tackled on the thorny issue by at least one member of the band.

The incident was being viewed by observers this weekend as the first direct clash between Mr Varadkar’s cool social media persona and his more conservative political ideals.

Many expected Mr Varadkar, as a gay man who backed marriage equality, to support a repeal of the 1983 Eighth Amendment.

However last week it was confirmed that Mr Varadkar would wait until the wording of the abortion referendum is set before deciding if he will personally campaign in favour of the measure. He has previously said he does not believe that proposals for a wide-ranging liberalisation of the law would be passed in a referendum.

The concert incident unfolded backstage on Friday evening. The Taoiseach, who friends say is a fan of LCD Soundsystem, spoke with guitarist Al Doyle, keyboard player Nancy Whang and lead singer James Murphy.

What happened is not exactly clear, with conflicting reports over how many of the band members joined in the protest.

Mr Doyle commented on Twitter shortly after meeting the Taoiseach backstage at the Olympia: ‘Irish PM Leo Varadkar came backstage. [I] wore a “repeal” tote bag around my neck in front of him; he walked away. T***er.’

Mr Doyle also said that his bandmate Ms Whang told Mr Varadkar that she strongly disagreed with his abortion stance, with the synthesizer player ‘totally f***in [taking] him to task’ on Ireland’s abortion law. ‘It was uncomfortable and awesome.’

Mr Doyle wrote: ‘It’s totally just my opinion that Leo Varadkar is a t***er. He just seemed like a bit of a t***er in the limited time I spent with him.’

But promoter of the concert, Caroline Downey of MCD, tweeted in support of Mr Varadkar, claiming that what Mr Doyle had tweeted regarding toting the Repeal bag was untrue.

She then tweeted an image of Mr Doyle, and LCD’s lead singer Mr Murphy posing with Mr Varadkar.

Sources in the green room however say that at least Ms Whang, about whom Ms Downey was silent, spoke to Mr Varadkar on the issue.

One witness, RTÉ digital radio DJ Emmet Walker tweeted: ‘When you witness an intense political debate between @lcdsoundsystem and @leovaradker (sic). Nancy Wang (sic) is a modern hero!!!’

Asked about the exchange, Mr Varadkar’s spokesman said that Mr Varadkar had gone backstage in a private capacity. ‘The Taoiseach was invited backstage in a private capacity,’ said a spokesman. ‘He was very happy to discuss the Eighth Amendment with a member

‘It was uncomfortable and awesome’