"It's like saying just because you haven't liked something since birth then you can't like it as an adult. I think that's silly."
On Monday evening, American comedian
Josh Pray said that he was taking a break from posting content about all things Ireland, following hateful comments he had received.
Speaking on
RTÉ's Liveline on Thursday, Pray said that he was "disheartened" by the reaction, but that he understands that his actions could seem opportunistic.
Talking about the abuse he had faced, Pray said "Those individuals don't speak for the majority of Ireland... The reaction to me saying I'm gonna take a break from doing Irish-based videos has been phenomenal, to the point that my manager has been mad at me and said 'Josh, you have to make a video explaining what's going on, because my battery can't take all the notifications."
He said that he had received abuse, with people saying that he is not a real fan of the GAA, to which he says that he is "shedding light on one of the greatest events in one of the greatest countries".
"It's like saying just because you haven't liked something since birth then you can't like it as an adult. I think that's silly."
"My focus is just to bring to joy to people. I thought it was awesome that I was bring joy to a culture that we as Americans really know little about."
Clearly not having lost his feelings for the game since this backlash, he described his love of hurling by saying:
"It's probably the most exciting thing that I have ever witnessed. The speed of the game, the fact that amateurs play the game at a professional level, the fact that women share equal fame and notoriety in the game is just something that's amazing."
Pray has 118,000 followers on Instagram, and has said that he won't be uploading any GAA content for the forseeable future.
