Irish boxer 'caught off guard' by tweet questions
Kellie Harrington rose to prominence after winning Olympic gold in 2021
At a glance
Boxer Kellie Harrington refused to answer questions about retweeting anti-immigration comments
She reposted a video of a journalist reacting to the murder of a 12-year-old girl in France last year
She was quizzed about the decision on Irish radio on Monday
Harrington has said she has since apologised to those hurt by her post
- Published
Irish Olympic champion Kellie Harrington has said she is aware of the "hurt" caused by her decision to retweet a video featuring anti-immigration comments.
In an interview on Irish radio on Monday, she was asked about a Twitter post from October linking to a clip from GB News, in which a journalist claimed European girls were being "sacrificed on the altar of mass migration".
Harrington later deleted her retweet, but in tense interview on Monday's Off the Ball programme, external on Newstalk she was repeatedly asked about the issue.
She refused to answer, later saying she was "caught off guard" by the question.
Presenter Shane Hannon asked Harrington to clarify her "strongly held views on immigration".
"In your position as a role model, those comments carry weight," he added.
She responded by accusing him of "hanging me out to dry" and requested that he ask her different questions.
Harrington's appearance has now been viewed at least 2.5m times on Twitter.
'Just let it go'
The Olympian protested that six months had passed since she retweeted the video and asked Mr Hannon to "move on" from the controversy.
Referring to a character from the children's film Frozen, Harrington told Hannon: "Be like Elsa and just let it go."
"It's my job to ask questions", the interviewer replied and he pointed out that she came on the show to discuss her role as community ambassador for a supermarket chain.
Harrington added: "I'm not here to talk about politics."
In a statement released on her Twitter account following the interview , externalshe said she was aware that as a "sporting role model" she had to be mindful of "what I say and do".
"How this come across is not reflective of me as a person or my thoughts."
She added that she was "all about community, inclusion and diversity".
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The 33-year-old boxer won Olympic gold in the women's 60kg lightweight final in Japan in August 2021 and returned home to a hero's reception in Dublin.
She grew up in the north inner city, an area which has been the site of anti-immigration protests in recent months.
The GB News video Harrington retweeted in October, featured Dutch journalist Eva Vlaardingerbroek discussing the murder of a 12-year-old girl in Paris.
The case sparked anti-immigration protests in France due to the immigration status of the suspect.
The video was captioned with the words: "Eva Vlaardingerbroek says young girls are being 'sacrificed on the altar of mass migration'."
Harrington retweeted it adding that it was "a powerful message".
Following Monday's Off the Ball interview, she released a statement explaining why she reposted the video at the time.
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She said she was "moved by the horrific circumstances" of the child's death, adding: "My thoughts in that moment were of that young girl and not any political opinion.
"Having realised the significance of my tweet and the hurt caused to a number of people I immediately deleted the tweet.
"I engaged privately with a number of people who were hurt by my tweet and I apologised to them."
Addressing Monday's interview, she said she was "not prepared for a question unrelated to my sport" and had been "caught off guard".