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'It came from the heart': Tubridy offers clarification over Greta Thunberg comments

The host faced criticism for remarks he’d made discussing the climate change activist and her speech to the UN.

RYAN TUBRIDY HAS sought to clarify comments he made on his RTÉ Radio One show yesterday morning about teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg which he said “seemed to have caused a lot of upset to some people”. 

Speaking on the show this morning, Tubridy said what he said “came from the heart” and was just “genuine concern for a young person on that stage”. 

In the early part of the programme yesterday, the Late Late Show host discussed Thunberg’s speech at the UN on Monday where she slammed world leaders for failing her generation when it came to climate change. 

“Last night I was looking at the news, and I felt a little uncomfortable,” he said before outlining how he supported last week’s climate marches where thousands of young people in Ireland and abroad took part. 

Tubridy then expressed his concern that someone so young was being exposed to such scrutiny on the world stage, and that watching Thunberg had made him think about his own daughter.

“Her face contorted in pain, in agony and in anxiety. I was watching her and not thinking about the climate,” he said. ”It’s not good for her mental health or her wellbeing.”

“She has Asperger’s, it’s known,” Tubridy said. “But she’s now up for grabs. A 16 year old shouldn’t be up for grabs.”

The host then addressed criticism he’d received online for these comments in his show today. 

“What I had said in regards to Greta, and this isn’t a defence or an apology, it’s just a clarification, it came from the heart,” he said.

I’m 46 years old and apparently I was shredded yesterday online and that’s fine because I’m not online so I didn’t see it. But it’s not nice. I got a couple of texts about it.

Tubridy reiterated that he was a supporter of the climate marches and said he admires young people and their engagement in politics and public affairs.

“I don’t like being the thing but since it’s there I think lest there be any confusion about comments I made yesterday,” he said.

In relation to these comments I made about Greta Thunberg’s speech to the United Nations, I think there might have been confusion about a pairing of Asperger’s syndrome as a mental illness but that wasn’t the case or what was intended at all.

He added that he’d spoken to the mother of a boy with Asperger’s syndrome on a separate segment on the show yesterday and said she’d had no issue with what had been said before.

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    Mute Michael Evans
    Favourite Michael Evans
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    Aug 8th 2015, 9:16 PM

    Around 15 of them were swooping down at my dog last week, it was like a scene from The Birds! I had to run out and grab the dog and bring him in. It was actually pretty scary, the are big feckers when they up close!

    66
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    Mute Shawn Rahoon
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    Aug 8th 2015, 8:21 PM

    And you think we’re gullable to swallow that gack.

    66
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    Mute Eddie Binbags
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    Aug 8th 2015, 10:50 PM

    Seen a massive gull eating a rabbit the other day. Wtf!

    30
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    Mute Seán Leahy
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    Aug 8th 2015, 9:33 PM

    I got 8/10 by just guessing the pattern the answers were arranged.

    65
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    Mute Cian O Donoghue
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    Aug 8th 2015, 11:17 PM

    Rain man

    52
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    Mute Supernova
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    Aug 8th 2015, 8:05 PM

    Without looking at the questions I just guessed all of them and got 9/10 beat that!

    49
    Sam
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    Mute Sam
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    Aug 8th 2015, 8:45 PM

    I got 10

    57
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    Mute Supernova
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    Aug 8th 2015, 9:05 PM

    You could of just kept it to yourself.. Tut

    37
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    Sam
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    Mute Sam
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    Aug 8th 2015, 9:09 PM

    I like to gloat

    46
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    Mute Trevor croft
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    Aug 8th 2015, 9:26 PM

    That can’t be right, play it again Sam

    45
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    Mute Michael Sands
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    Aug 9th 2015, 5:37 PM

    5 out of 10 gives you a gull sitting on Daniel O’Connell’s head?

    1
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    Mute Thomas Farrell
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    Aug 8th 2015, 11:43 PM

    The seagulls in the first picture look like there getting ready to drop a new rap album

    41
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    Mute Cheryl Mellett
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    Aug 8th 2015, 8:57 PM

    Ah come on journal stop with the seagull propaganda!!!

    37
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    Mute Trevor croft
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    Aug 8th 2015, 9:17 PM

    There’s some crazy birds out there.

    35
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    Mute Leo Massey
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    Aug 8th 2015, 9:12 PM

    I’d just like to point out to the ‘journalist’ and most of the commentators that there is no such thing as a seagull.
    There are only gulls.
    Who live by the sea.

    32
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    Mute Rob Mahony
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    Aug 9th 2015, 8:21 AM

    saw a seagull attack a fella for his mcDonalds breakfast on grafton street about a year ago.
    Funniest thing ever….poor fella his breakfast ended up on the ground and seagull made off with it

    15
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    Mute stephen
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    Aug 9th 2015, 12:14 PM

    I’m looking at every seagull like there going to attack me because of the media , I look at Muslims the same way , I’m just a gullible moron

    8
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    Mute Jimmy Murphy
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    Aug 9th 2015, 1:57 PM

    Mine mine mine mine mine mine mine mine mine mine ‘Ah will you just shaaaaaaaadup!!!!’

    6
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    Mute Dr Grinspoon
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    Aug 8th 2015, 8:51 PM

    Hahaha the most evil seagul on the planet watch this. – FOR MATURE AUDIENCE ONLY!” on YouTube
    https://youtu.be/JOVRXEjFh-U

    5
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    Mute Dr Grinspoon
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    Aug 8th 2015, 8:52 PM

    Bare through the first 20 seconds.

    3
    Sam
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    Mute Sam
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    Aug 8th 2015, 9:02 PM

    That’s disgusting. Did you have to post that?

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    Mute Dr Grinspoon
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    Aug 8th 2015, 9:08 PM

    The world must know of this evil seagul. Hes the one who started it all. Sure listen to his evil laugh!

    13
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    Mute TheDoctor
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    Aug 8th 2015, 9:37 PM

    That laugh. Holy crap.

    10
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    Mute Jimmy Murphy
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    Aug 9th 2015, 1:54 PM

    That evil laugh is something else.

    2
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    Mute Michael Sands
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    Aug 9th 2015, 5:41 PM

    And no one did a thing to help not even the camera man…
    Reminds me of the story of Legion and the pigs who jumped over the cliff…

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    Mute Anthony Byrne
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    Aug 9th 2015, 11:21 AM

    More entertaining than today’s news anyway

    5
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    Mute Niall Schweppe
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    Aug 9th 2015, 11:19 AM

    What is a seagull, there are common gulls, herring gulls even black-headed gulls but what is a sea gull?

    3
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    Mute Michael Sands
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    Aug 9th 2015, 5:38 PM

    The ones who are seen lol.

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    Mute Linda Swayne Whyte
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    Aug 9th 2015, 10:43 AM

    Just goes to show how hungry they are. On slea head, dingle, in april 2015, they actually took crackers from my hand (I was feeding them at the time), never before have I know seagulls to do this. All the birds seem very hungry this year from the smallest to the largest. Instead of culling them, how about feeding them.

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    Mute Enda Elvery
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    Aug 9th 2015, 8:03 AM

    Watched the gull eating the pigeon on video.
    Birds eat live worms.
    We put live worms on hooks to fish
    Reminds me of us eating live oysters
    Or boiling crabs alive.

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    Mute Michael Sands
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    Aug 9th 2015, 5:36 PM

    Calm down as you have a government to run, lol.

    1
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