Chaos on the Late Late as bust-up overshadows Eurovision entry
Aslan’s Billy McGuinness has hit out at Walsh’s involvement with the contest, accusing him of having vested interests in two of the acts; Kasey Smith and Eoghan Quigg.
Louis cast Kasey in girlband ‘Wonderland’ a few years ago and he also mentored Eoghan when he took part in hit show the X Factor.
As a result, tensions ran high in the RTE studios last night causing the Late Late’s Eurosong Special to descend into near madness.
Some Twitter users likened it to an episode of Jeremy Kyle after former Eurovision winner Linda Martin stormed off the stage and into the audience to confront Billy McGuinness over comments he made about her and Walsh’s involvement on the Eurosong panel.
Full marks to Ryan for his refereeing skills! Shame on Linda & Billy for being so unprofessional in public. @RTELateLateShow #Eurosong
— Fran Stone (@FranStone1) February 28, 2014
Before the broadcast, McGuinness caused controversy by accusing Walsh of having a ‘stranglehold’ over the competition.
He called for Walsh to be removed from the panel and accused him of soliciting One Direction star Niall Horan into send out a Tweet on his behalf, encouraging his 17 million followers to cast votes for Eoghan Quigg.
McGuinness said this gave Quigg an unfair advantage over other the others, including his own act, songstress Laura O’Neill.
#eurosong prediction: Can Linn to win, Laura O'Neill to represent us in the next 3 years - amazing voice overshadowed by the nonsense
— Isobel O'Connor (@Izzy_O) February 28, 2014
Louis Walsh, alongside Linda Martin, Eoghan McDermott and Maia Dunphy, formed part of a panel on last night’s explosive show and provided critiques after each performance.
Dubbing Mcguinness “an odious little man”, Martin confronted the ‘Crazy World’ performer, towering over him in high heels and a leopard print dress.
Refusing to back down, McGuinness accused her of being “on Louis’ payroll” forcing host Ryan Tubridy to intervene.
Attention shifted back to the task at hand momentarily with Laura O’Neill’s stunning performance but it was only a matter of minutes before the talk turned bitchy once again with Louis Walsh questioning if Billy McGuinness was “on anything”.
#eurosong #latelate #EuroSong2014 I think Billy is having a break down or something? He may need medical help? Who agrees? @rte
— Louis Walsh (@LouisWalshXFact) February 28, 2014
Ever the diplomat, Tubridy explained “there’s a lot of passion in the studio this evening, but I’d just like to clarify that Billy is not ‘on’ anything”.
Special guest Johnny Logan weighed in saying he didn’t think it was fair to pick on Louis but that Billy had a right to express himself and his feelings.
You know you're in a mad shop when Johnny Logan is the one making the most sense. #latelate #eurosong
— Dustin The Turkey (@DustinOfficial) February 28, 2014
Reporting from backstage, Marty Whelan made light of the matter by presenting Tubridy with a helmet, while Maia Dunphy said she had “a car with the engine running” outside, and fellow panellist Eoghan McDermott sensibly lamented that the controversy was overshadowing the performances.
WE WON !! AMAZING!!!!
— Can-linn (@can_linn) February 28, 2014
Thank you so much to all of our fans! :)#yeswedid!
