Eurovision hopefuls Wild Youth ‘cut ties’ with choreographer following social media comments

The band were selected as Ireland’s Eurovision entry following a live contest on The Late Late Showearlier this year.

Shortly afterwards, it was announced that creative director and choreographer Ian Banham would work with the band ahead of the competition which takes place next month.

However, Mr Banham has come in for criticism regarding activity on his Twitter account recently.

In one comment he wrote, “It’s a for sure a CULT,” under a post by another Twitter user that said: “Non-Binary Woman identifies as a Hawk.”

In another instance, Mr Banham replied: “That’s because he’s not a woman,” under a video of a transgender woman.

Meanwhile, replying to an account called ‘End Wokeness’ that shared a story, with the headline ‘Woman jailed after stabbing and tying up victim – BBC News’, which was posted on the BBC News Twitter account, Mr Banham wrote: “Exactly! It’s a Man! This clown world is ridiculous.”

Some of the comments on Mr Banham’s account have been deleted. Earlier today his account was public, but it has now been made private.

In a statement published on Twitter this afternoon, Wild Youth said it is “a band that stands for unity and kindness. Our song represents our beliefs as a band. We have cut all ties with Ian Banham and will not have him on or near our team or Eurovision journey. We are so sorry for anyone offended by his comments”.

The band are set to headline the Cork LGBT+ Pride Festival in July.

Mr Banhman has previously worked on hit programmes including Dancing On Ice, Strictly Come Dancing and RTÉ’s Dancing With The Stars.

He is also the creator/choreographer of The Blonde Bombshell, a stage production based on the life of Hollywood actress Marilyn Monroe, which has scheduled shows in counties Cork, Dublin and Limerick next month.

Independent.ie contacted Mr Banham’s management company, 3Rings Management, but the company declined to comment.

In a statement issued this evening, RTÉ said Mr Banham is “no longer a member of Ireland's Eurovision 2023 team”, the broadcaster said it won't be making any further comment.

In February Wild Youth narrowly won the Irish song contest and will now represent the country at the Eurovision on May 9.

The four-piece band from Dublin have a string of top hits in here and have toured with names including Niall Horan, Lewis Capaldi and Westlife.

Their Eurovision entry, We Are One, was written with Grammy-nominated songwriter Jörgen Elofsson.

The band - made up of Conor O’Donohoe, Ed Porter, Callum McAdam, and David Whelan - will perform in Liverpool this May at the 67th Eurovision Song Contest in front of an audience of 160 million people around the world.

Speaking to Jennifer Zamparelli on 2FM, they said they working hard as the performance approaches.

O’Donohoe said Irish Eurovision fans can expect a stadium show “in an arena”.

Whelan said the decision to go for the Eurovision was “very communal”, while McAdam said he and his fiancé had to postpone their wedding as the dates clashed.

"When we first booked it, it was on the exact date of the Eurovision,” he said.

"I said to Katie, ‘We have good news and bad news. We’re going for the Eurosong… It’s on the wedding date’,” he added.

"And she just goes, ‘You better win it’.”