Man upset by ‘soft porn’ lingerie ad sent graphic abortion image to TDs
Father of two now planning protest outside pop-up kiosk to deter sales
THE man who strongly objects to lingerie brand Agent Provocateur’s ads in Dundrum Town Centre has admitted to sending a graphic image of an aborted foetus to TDs and pro-choice campaigners on Twitter.
Father-of-two Kenneth Durr, from Donnybrook, south Dublin, was vocal in the media this week concerning his complaints over the risqué advertisements displaying a model in her underwear, as House of Fraser launch a pop-up kiosk of the luxury lingerie brand ahead of Valentine’s Day. He said he was ‘disgusted’ by the ads which he described as ‘immoral soft-core porn’.
‘It’s not a suitable place to bring your children’
However, the 49-year-old told the Irish Mail on Sunday that he believed that during last year’s abortion referendum, the pro-life side should have been allowed to show graphic images of aborted foetuses, as seen on his Twitter feed, on ‘late-night’ programmes.
Mr Durr is currently considering protesting outside the Agent Provocateur kiosk which will be dismantled following Valentine’s Day and argues that potentially 20 parents will join him.
Speaking to the MoS, he described allowing children to join his protest as hypocritical.
He said: ‘Around 20 people would protest. Most people have children and it wouldn’t be something you’d bring your children along to because that would be hypocritical. That would sicken me as much as watching children being brought on abortion marches. It’s not a place for the child to be.
‘I don’t think children should have been brought to marches on either side of the abortion debate. Under a certain age, it’s not a correct topic and my whole point about this is it’s not a suitable place to bring your children.’
Mr Durr placed a complaint about the ads with An Garda Síochána, Agent Provocateur, House of Fraser and the Advertising Standards Authority. He has also asked his solicitor about the legalities of protesting near the kiosk.
‘You don’t want to annoy shoppers too much but I would like to surround the kiosk so that no one could get to it,’ he admitted.
Mr Durr’s public Twitter feed shows he previously sent a graphic image of an aborted foetus to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Health Minister Simon Harris, Kate O’Connell TD, Orla O’Connor, director of the National Women’s Council of Ireland, and Newstalk’s Dr Ciara Kelly while legislation concerning the abortion referendum was processed in December 2018. But as a father to a 10-yearold son and 12-year-old daughter, Mr Durr told the MoS that he would never share the foetus images with his children.
‘I would never let my daughter see that in a million years and my daughter isn’t allowed to have Twitter,’ he said. ‘I do think that during the abortion referendum that the pro-life side should have been allowed [to show these images]. On late-night television, images of aborted babies should have been allowed to be seen.
‘I certainly don’t think any child should be allowed to see that.’
He added: ‘I am disenchanted with the Irish, with the morals and the aggression. It’s just not a nice place. It’s changing for the worse but people don’t seem to think so.
‘I’m a great defender of the young, the poor and the needy. I’ve a big heart. I’m very pro-woman and I do think that’s very important.’