Panti power: Rousing speech goes global

MOVING Rory O’Neill, as Panti Bliss, during his ‘Panti’s Noble Call’ speech at The Abbey Theatre in Dublin.

Panti power – speech goes global


Entertainer and self-described ‘accidental gay rights activist’ Rory O’Neill, also known as Panti Bliss, has said he would like an apology from RTÉ Managing Director Glenn Killane.
Speaking on national radio yesterday (Monday), O’Neill said he would like if Mr Killane called him to apologise, after RTÉ paid €85,000 in damages to members of the Iona Institute and journalist John Waters following comments made by the Ballinrobe man on The Saturday Night Show.
“If he asked his mother what should he do, his mother would say ‘Glenn you call that man and apologise because you treated him really bad’,” said O’Neill, speaking on The Ray Darcy Show yesterday.
His speech at The Abbey Theatre on February 2 last entitled ‘Panti’s Noble Call’, has received more than 400,000 YouTube hits and has been translated into multiple languages.
As his alter ego Miss Panti, O’Neill took to the stage for his post-show oration and explained to the audience his feelings of oppression as a gay man in Ireland. O’Neill said the past number of weeks were ‘upsetting and stressful’.
Since his appearance on the TV chat show a month ago and after his impassioned YouTube speech, Rory has received worldwide support including tweets from Stephen Fry, Graham Norton, well known American Drag Queen Ru Paul and a personal message from Madonna. The video has since been discussed by international news teams on the BBC and Channel Four.
O’Neill has said he was asked to do the Noble Call speech on Tuesday but didn’t write it until the Saturday afternoon.
On Sunday, February 3, over 2,000 people congregated in Dublin City Centre to protest about the treatment of debate around homophobia on RTÉ.
On the wide ranging interview with Miriam O’Callaghan on RTÉ Radio One on Sunday morning last O’Neill revealed that he has been approached by more than one political party about running in the upcoming local and European elections.
He ruled out any suggestion of running for election, saying that he was “not cut out to be a politician”. More than one political party has approached him about standing but he declined to name them.