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A COUPLE WHO were the subject of online abuse after appearing in an advertising campaign for a supermarket chain have left Ireland after receiving a death threat against them.
Fiona Ryan (33), her fiance Jonathan Mathis (32) and their 22-month-old son Jonah feature in a current television and billboard campaign for Lidl.
The couple were the subject of a number of abusive online posts with racist and insulting comments made against them after they featured in the advert.
The couple appeared on RTÉ’s The Late Late Show last night to speak about their ordeal which has resulted in them fleeing the country.
Presenter Ryan Tubridy read out one of the Twitter comments about the ad:
“German dump @lidl_ireland gaslighting the Irish people with their multicultural version of ‘The Ryans’. Kidding no-one! Resist the Great Replacement wherever you can by giving this kip a wide berth. #ShopIrish #BuyIrish.”
The tweet was sent by Gemma O’Doherty, a former journalist who unsuccessfully sought to run in the presidential election last year.
Several people commented underneath the post – many people defended the family but others directed racist and insulting comments towards them.
‘Harrowing few days’
Fiona and Jonathan told Tubridy that since speaking out about the online abuse last week, they have had a “harrowing” few days.
The couple said they have left Ireland due to a death threat that was made against them.
“I felt like we needed to leave,” said Fiona.
Getting visibly upset, she said the death threat was made against her, her husband and her baby.
“It was directed at Jonah as well,” she said, adding:
I am not going to stay in country where this is allowed.
The couple called for more regulations on the large social media companies, stating that “they are not doing what they should be doing”.
Jonathan said they operating like it is “the wild west”.
Speaking further about the online abuse they received after taking part in the advert, Fiona said she didn’t think taking part in a commercial would bring so much attention.
Fiona said she found out about the tweet when the producer of the Lidl TV advert called her.
“I got so upset and angry these people are looking at my child and saying all this hurtful stuff,” she said, adding that she was “shook up”.
“It is sick I can’t believe people have this view after everything,” said Fiona, who said they couple have decided to speak out about their experience in order to bring about change.
“I can’t feel like this and do nothing with it,” she said.
Having gone to the gardaí about the abuse, Fiona said she was dismayed when she was told this is a civil matter and there was nothing the gardái could do about it.
In order to make a case to the gardaí, she had to scroll through all the abusive tweets and take screenshots to gather the evidence.
“No one should be subjected to that stuff,” she said.
Racist abuse
While Fiona said she has never received such abuse, Jonathan said it is something he has experienced before.
“I have had it all my life,” he said, adding that it has been “a theme throughout my life, almost become normal”.
Either once or twice a year someone will say something hateful him because of the colour of his skin, he said.
“These people don’t care, they are filled with hate and ignorance,” he added.
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Why is other people’s skin colour important to some folk? Genuine question.
@Eleanor The Great: Its not just skin colour.Being English can also be difficult at times.
@Tony Moore: yup but in this case skin colour was, right?
@Eleanor The Great: Because they need to feel themselves superior, so look for differences between themselves and others, and exalt the ones that they got for ‘free’. Because they’ve *done* little or nothing to be proud of in their lives they need to find pride in whatever little they’ve got, and the things that can never change. They’re miserable, insecure people – bullies that never grew up.
@Lionheart1: 800 years leaves you lot open to a bit of stick.
@Tuot tuot: Yes but I wasn’t there then.
@Tuot tuot: you think that’s ok?
@Tony Moore: yup. Read something bout it and heard it on the radio too which wouldn’t be the case if your BS theory was true
@Tony Moore: what’s a non-national?
How is making racist comments a civil matter?
@KevJ: And threatening to kill.
@Juan Fangio: funny that,
if a security guard stops someone leaving a store with stock in front of others, it’s defamation and your have solicitors lining up to take your case.
Racism – sort it or yourself.
Why not say Lidl Ad?
@Joe Shea: And why did Tubridy read out the tweet from Gemma O’Doherty but not say who tweeted it? Too much pussyfooting going on…
@Squiddley Diddley: I wondered that myself. She needs to be called out on this stuff.
@Squiddley Diddley: does she really need more promoting?
@Squiddley Diddley: Perhaps because the Gemmaroid has a penchant for taking court cases against people as often as other people take out the bins.
@Fon_Ellard: She took on denis the former FG Treasurer and WON.
Seems like it would have been a lot easier to just not read Twitter rather then pack up and leave the country. The people sending the horrible comments online are nothing more then a bunch of pathetic trolls.
@Alan Lynch: But they are cowards who can hide behind digital masks and that brings out the worst of them. All they want to do is influence others in one way or another without getting their digital hands dirty like any other pathetic coward.
@TamuMassif2019: I agree with you. That’s why I don’t understand why they don’t just ignore it. None of these online thugs would actually Do anything in real life
@Tony Moore: A volcano…
@Tony Moore: What does his name matter? Him spouting? Take a look in the mirror.
Its a sad reality that when you put yourself out on public social media platforms you are letting all & sundry in to make comments. Best to use privacy settings until a resolution to this disgusting abuse can be found.
@Seamus Mac: how would privacy settings have affected the reaction to a TV commercial?
@Vocal Outrage: she said people were making comments on her facebook page. I assume she doesn’t know these people. Therefore, use the privacy settings.
@Seamus Mac: Some people here are jealous old bullies who are cowards hiding behind computer screens and hiding under banners and them leaving is just playing into the hands of these evil cowards and that should never happen.
@TamuMassif2019: i agree that it is a victory for them but if she thinks her child is in danger she should do what is necessary. Is there no way of tracking down the person who made the death threat? Was it made on twitter or facebook? Surely these companies should have to be held accountable in some way when a death threat is made.
Firstly, not one single person on this planet should endure having a racist comment or a death threat directed toward them simply because of the colour of their skin.
Secondly, if you send a death threat to a child, then there really is something psychologically wrong with you.
End of.
@Arch Angel: Some clowns feel she is a bulwark for their fragile identities. The rest of us look forward to the day she goes away and stops with her abject nonsense.
@Clifford Brennan: best to ignore these people. Publicity is what they crave.
@Seamus Mac: I feel its better to confront and expose this type of mindlessness. Lift the rock they live under and shine a light. Theres no place in Ireland for this bs
That poor couple god love them…I’m ashamed this has happened in this country….laws need to be implemented asap
The most frightening and shocking part of that article is to be told that if someone threatens to kill you and your family it’s only a civil matter . So when does it become a criminal matter ?……when they actually kill you.
WTF is wrong with some people.. Madness
Fantastic. I hope we’re all pleased with ourselves. Never felt more ashamed to be Irish.
@Iósua Ó Nuailann: I don`t I didn`t do anything wrong, I don`t have self hate because there are Irish racists, what country doesn`t have racists?
@Iósua Ó Nuailann: sorry now but that’s mental.
So sad to see the fall of Gemma O’Doherty like this. She was once an investigative journalist of substance but now is a pathetic individual falling to the lowest of the low depths of dogwhistling alt right bigots for some small shred of relevance somewhere. Shameful.
@Paul Cullen: I’m amazed the comments haven’t been shut down because you named that witch in your comment. RTE were obviously taking no chances last night by not naming her. She’s fond of the courts.
@Tony Moore: But it IS normal Tony. Two people in a relationship raising a child IS normal. The colour of their skin has nothing to do with it!
@Tony Moore: What issues does she highlight?
Appalling
Gemma o doherty, utterly despicable
@Tony Moore: So to be clear you agree that Ireland is not represented properly in a ad that features familes if the color of their skin isn’t white? This is 2019 and if any one finds that ad wrong because of skin colour then they are a racist. It’s not an “issue”. The issue is racism and you sir seem to be one.
Jesus this is awful two people in love dont matter the skin colour race been forced out of Ireland with there child because of biggets who think that Ireland is all white reminds you of the DUP attitude to the Republic this is sad yes there is a culture in Ireland that thinks every race comes off the migrant boats and lives off the state getting social welfare houses free but there are others that dont and they suffer because of little minded people out there .
that Family shouldn’t run away because of this they should stand shoulder to shoulder . I wonder if one of those biggets daughter or son walked in with a Colour partner how they would react as look a member of are own Rugby team is coloured and hes proud to wear the colours of his country and so he should be hes irish .
Why do Facebook and Twitter allow Gemma O’Doherty to use their websites as a platform for her xenophobic poison? At least YouTube shut her down.
Someone is really busy deleting my comments on here… Did I touch a nerve???
@TamuMassif2019: I’ve had 2 comments removed probably because I commented underneath a comment that named the person who made the original racist tweet. Pathetic of the journal.
@Tony Moore: why? Do you wish them harm?
The anonymous far right GemGem fanbois, bunch of pathetic cowards, keyboard warriors, wouldn’t dare do that in public.
@Tony Moore: my profile is real unlike a saddo anon chicken like you son
The amount of deflecting and minimising the issue by the kind of people who see no problem with what happened to them is staggering. You’re just showing us how racist you really are.
I’m convinced someone could call a black man the n-word to his face and people here would still be denying it was racist!
They should move next door to that gemma one, not leave the country, that is only giving her and her like more power.
(Few typos that need to be fixed)
An issue close to home. Horrible to still see racist mind sets after coming such a long way. Clearly there’s a long way yet to go.
Utterly vile racist comments from nasty people who hide behind keyboards.
@The Second Last Word: Yes racists exist in other countries as well. But in all other EU countries they have effective legal remedies for hate speech that involves the criminal law. We don’t in Ireland. We leave it to the injured party. The law we have is ineffective and hate speech based on race is toxic to individuals and society. And you cannot reason with people who are like this. This couple should not have been subjected to this racist bile without and effective remedy. People say these things online because they have no fear of an effective sanction. Most are beyond shame. Ireland of the welcomes my backside.
It doesn’t even make any sense even coming from ignorant racists and bigot, your man is Brazilian, hardly could class that as a mixed marriage no more than a Spaniard or a North American.
Also if it was a real mixed marriage , I for one would be feel our island has been breeding amongst to small a gene pool and now those inbreeds have the soapbox of Twitter etc.
I feel sorry for this family but don’t move just coz some idiots learned to type, most people don’t see or feel this way
This is one for a blindboy podcast
Gemma and her idiot followers are directly responsible for this.
@Keith O’Reilly: what’s most upsetting is that they got what they wanted- the couple left. They’ll feel encouraged by this.
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