Samantha Mumba has clarified her recent comments on the Eurosong judging panel following a special episode of the Late Late Show on Friday night.
The singer released a statement on Sunday in which she said that the panel were "unnecessarily rude and vile" and claimed they "didn't have the credentials, experience or professionalism required" to help identify Ireland's entrant for this year's competition.
The panel consisted of celebrity chef and former Eurosong contestant Donal Skehan, Dancing with the Stars judge Arthur Gourounlian, 2FM broadcaster Laura Fox and Ireland's 2024 Eurovision act, Bambie Thug.
Samantha took to her Instagram stories to elaborate on her comments, explaining that her previous statement wasn't about not winning Eurosong, but about the judges' comments on all the contestants, reports RSVP Live.
She wrote: "Who would have thought a few aubergines would have caused such a scene? I'll spare you all a pages long statement but I really do want to make it clear - this was never ever about me not winning."
"That's the nature of the business and this show's format - I know that better than most. I feel strongly that the panel were dismissive of all the contestants, which was disappointing given the amount of work and passion we all put into our performances. My stance on this won't change."
"As I mentioned in my initial post, I wish Emmy the absolute best and will be cheering her on to bring Eurovision back to Ireland again!!"
In her previous Sunday statement, she thanked all those that supported her on Eurosong, from her creative director to those that collaborated on the song.
She added: "Special mention to the 'panel' (aside from Bambie who I stan) who not only didn't have the credentials, experience or professionalism required," the My Way singer added. "Would have said this in person but they all left the green room before I had the opportunity to unsurprisingly."
Samantha's statement comes after Eurosong hopeful Reylta said on Monday that comments from the show's panelists were "toxic".
Galway singer Caoimhe Glynn otherwise known as Reylta performed her song, Fire, on Friday night's Late Late Show Eurosong special.
But speaking to Kieran Cuddihy on Newstalk on Monday afternoon, she said people were crying backstage over the remarks the panellists were making about the six Eurosong acts.
She said: "My experience was wonderful. I had such a good time with my competitors. It was such an amazing atmosphere, and like the help that we got from all the people in RTE and all of our amazing teams, the only thing that brought it down and brought the mood down completely was the judges' comments."
"I think a lot of people are seeing Samantha's statement as like sour grapes or something, but I think Samantha is speaking on behalf of all of us, like there were, there were tears shed in the Green Room over comments, not my own, because I actually knew what was coming."
"After Adgy's performance first, I saw the comments, and I was like, 'Okay, this is not going to go well for me', so I've completely blocked that out. Even standing behind stage, I was like, 'I'm blocking that out. I'm not listening to that'."
"So my friends and my family have told me what has happened, but I haven't personally listened to it because it seems very hurtful, and they all seem to like a cheerleader effect, nearly hop on top of each other's negativity and just make it more toxic as the show went on, like the comments about Niall's dancers were so specific and hurtful to those dancers, they were in tears, and I had to go up to them be like, 'don't listen'."
"I just don't think they should have had as much time to talk. I think they should have been a lot more diplomatic with their answers. They were just very targeted and severe in the way that they spoke."
An RTE spokesperson said: "We are extremely grateful to the Late Late Show Eurosong panel for their professionalism, insight, integrity and good humour. Their role is to give their honest reaction to the performances on the night, offering their thoughts on the likely success of the song and act at the Eurovision Song Contest. Our panel did this in a thoughtful and considered way. It seems this was in line with the public vote that ultimately made the decision on the artist and song they wished to represent Ireland at this year's contest."
"It's never easy to offer a personal opinion, as not everyone will agree. Our panel did that with the utmost care and we wish to extend our thanks to them for the excellent job they did on Friday night."
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