An Irish public service campaign encouraging grandparents to ask before hugging their grandchildren has been withdrawn after provoking widespread criticism and calls from politicians for “a bit of common sense.”
The 25-second video was produced by We-Consent, an initiative run by the Dublin Rape Crisis Center. Ireland’s Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan, said Thursday that the advertisement had been removed because it was “inappropriate and demeaning to grandparents.”
“The video produced by the DRCC involving grandparents does not represent the views of the Government,” O’Callaghan said in a post on X. His department helped fund the wider consent-awareness campaign.
He said the advertisement was taken down after officials raised their concerns with the Dublin Rape Crisis Center, describing it as both inappropriate and insulting to grandparents.
“It goes without saying that having loving grandparents in a child’s life is an incredibly positive thing to be cherished and not something to be campaigned against,” the minister added.
The commercial showed one child warmly embracing their grandparents, while another appeared uneasy as her grandparents moved in for a hug.
“Not everyone wants a hug. Even from the people who love them,” the voiceover and on-screen message stated.
The campaign then described the moment as potentially “awkward,” but insisted that recognizing a child’s discomfort was important.
We-Consent is a nationwide initiative backed by Ireland’s Department of Justice and Department of Children, Disability, and Equality. Its stated purpose is to educate people across society about consent and encourage public discussion of the issue.
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O’Callaghan said teaching consent in the context of sexual relationships was essential, but argued that the grandparents-focused video failed to support that objective and could ultimately undermine it.
The advertisement was one of three videos in the campaign and quickly became the subject of intense political and social media criticism after it was released.
Irish councilor Gavin Pepper accused the government and non-governmental organizations of “losing the run of ourselves” in a Facebook post sharing the video.
Pepper acknowledged that children should learn about personal boundaries and that no one should be pressured into unwanted physical contact.
At the same time, he argued that public messaging on the subject also needed “a bit of common sense.”
The backlash prompted some social media users to demand an examination of how the advertisement was approved and funded.
Irish singer Róisín Murphy questioned the campaign’s financing and accused its creators of contributing to what she described as ongoing attacks on the traditional Irish family.
Others defended the underlying message, saying children should be taught that they have control over their own bodies and can establish boundaries even with close relatives.
“You can dislike the ad (I do), but consent is not just about sexual relationships. It is actually healthy to teach children that they are entitled to physical boundaries & pointing out they are not obliged to embrace anyone (including grandparents) is good,” one X user wrote.
Another commenter argued that the video was simply illustrating that children have different comfort levels while emphasizing the importance of consent, adding that it was not an attack on grandparents.
