Ireland AM hit with angry viewer complaint over “sugary rim” segment

"The presenter picked up on a secondary meaning to this term, which refers to sex, and this caused him to laugh."

A segment on Virgin Media show Ireland AM resulted in an angry complaint made to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) after a guest asked one of the presenters if he "liked a sugary rim". The segment, which took place back in April, featured a mixologist teaching the presenters how to make a cocktail, which required sugar being poured on the edge of the glass. This led the cocktail pro to ask one of the presenters if he "liked a sugary rim" which caused the host and mixologist to both fall into a fit of laughter at the "innuendo", according to the angry viewer. The complaint stated that the guest said the above remark "several times" and the presenter "thought it was hilarious". According to a BAI report released on Wednesday, 29 September: "The complainant found the language and innuendo offensive and inappropriate for broadcast on this programme and at this time of day." In response to the complaint, the broadcaster noted that the specific segment complained of was a cocktail-making demonstration "that contained light-hearted exchanges between the presenter and the guest on the programme". The broadcaster added that the channel is not a children’s channel and the programme is not a children’s programme, noting that the segment was broadcast during school hours. "The broadcaster is of the view that audience expectations for this segment would be such that the possibility of innuendo or banter of this nature would not be surprising or offensive," they added. "The presenter picked up on a secondary meaning to this term, which refers to sex, and this caused him to laugh," the broadcaster continued. The BAI added that while they believe most people would not have noticed it, those that did "would not perceive the content as being out of context with this type of programme" and subsequently rejected the complaint for those reasons. Other complaints of note from the report released on Wednesday included a Catholic viewer who was very angry that St. Patrick’s Day was referred to as “Paddy’s Day” during an advertisement for a butchers. The complaint related to an advertisement for Gleeson’s Butchers in Navan on LMFM. The complainant said that he believed his Catholic faith was "singled out" by the advert for "mockery and ridicule and this caused him great hurt and distress."