FIANNA FÁIL HEALTH spokesperson Billy Kelleher has said Ireland should not allow self-styled “pick-up artist” Julien Blanc to enter the country for an event next year.
The 25-year old American became notorious earlier this year when a video of him grabbing and choking women in Japan went viral, and an Australian campaign led to a number of venues cancelling his “bootcamps.”
In a strongly-worded statement this afternoon, the Cork North-Central deputy condemned Blanc as someone who “packages abuse and manipulation of women into an event.”
This is a man who is travelling the world making money by promoting emotional and physical abuse against women.
He actively encourages the continued sexualisation and objectification of women through his seminars and bootcamps, which he plans to bring to Dublin next summer.
As a country we should simply say ‘no thanks’ and block his travel here through refusal of a work visa.
Blanc was denied entry to the UK last week after a petition to block him gained more than 150,000 signatures.
A similar campaign in Ireland has so far gained more than 12,000 signatures.
Tthe Department of Justice does not comment on specific cases.
However, it’s understood that Ireland’s Common Travel Area with the UK could make an Irish visa even less likely for Blanc, given that he might attempt to enter the UK from here.
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