Patrick Kielty has found himself at the center of controversy after comments he made linking the Golders Green stabbing incident to the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The remarks came during an interview with Boy George on RTÉ’s Late Late Show.
The 55-year-old host for the Irish state broadcaster mentioned the “horrors in Gaza” as part of the “backdrop” to the stabbings in north London, suggesting that the situation is “complex.”
This discussion follows the recent violent attack in Golders Green, where two Jewish men were reportedly stabbed by Essa Suleiman, a British national of Somali descent.
Suleiman, aged 45, appeared before the court on Friday, facing charges of attempted murder related to the attack on the two men, as well as an attempted murder charge concerning an earlier incident involving a friend in Southwark.
Boy George, who happened to be in the Golders Green area during the incident, expressed his deep emotional reaction, stating he was moved to tears by the attacks on 34-year-old Shloime Rand and 76-year-old Moshe Shine.
In the aftermath, Boy George also shared that he faced online backlash over his support for the Jewish community, highlighting the tensions surrounding the incident.
Boy George said on the show: ‘For me personally, growing up I have had so many beautiful Jewish friends and I still have. Being asked to turn against the whole race of people is not acceptable to me and I am getting a lot of abuse for it but I don’t really care.’
Kielty said in response: ‘You have attacks on the Jewish community and the backdrop of that obviously is the horrors in Gaza and this is a complex thing.
Patrick Kielty (left) speaks to Boy George (right) on RTÉ’s Late Late Show on Friday night
‘I know you have always spoken out that violence is never the answer.’
Boy George then asked the audience if they knew any Jewish people, at which point the room fell silent.
After the show aired, Holocaust Awareness Ireland branded the interview ‘extraordinary’, accusing RTÉ of being ‘disturbingly unbalanced’ in its coverage of Jewish people.
A spokesperson wrote on X: ‘[The] Two defining moments come when [Boy George] asked the audience if they know any Jewish people and is met by stone cold silence.
‘The silence represents a combination of fear that admitting such relationships publicly might cause difficulty and the reality that most Irish people don’t know any Jews.
‘The second incredulous aspect of the interview is [Patrick Kielty’s] singular lack of empathy when speaking about Jews.
‘Here is a public figure who has been rightly applauded for his brave public confrontation with the tragic sectarian murder of his father and the manner in which he has engaged with the loyalist community in the North.
‘How is it that a man capable of extraordinary courage is blind to the persecution of another minority in the city of London where he calls home?’
Kielty’s father was shot dead by loyalist paramilitaries in 1988 in Dundrum, the County Down town where he grew up.
‘My dad died for nothing – he wasn’t a political figure, he wasn’t taking a stand,’ the presenter said previously.
‘He had a building firm, he employed both sides. That wouldn’t be considered a stand anywhere else.’
Three men were convicted in connection with the killing, but were freed after the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.
Following Kielty’s discussion with Boy George, a Campaign Against Antisemitism spokesman added: ‘Boy George has been a steadfast supporter of the Jewish community in this difficult period, enduring online abuse for daring to stand up for this embattled minority. We are enormously grateful for his lonely voice standing up for Jews.
Kielty has become embroiled in an anti-Semitism row after linking the Golders Green attack to the ‘horrors in Gaza’
‘What a contrast to Patrick Kielty, whose first reaction when Jews are stabbed on the streets of Britain is to reference Gaza.’
In September 2025, RTÉ said it would not take part in Eurovision 2026 ‘if the participation of Israel goes ahead’.
An RTÉ spokesperson said today: ‘On Friday’s Late Late Show Patrick Kielty addressed the Golders Green attack with his guest Boy George, who had witnessed the aftermath, as part of a wide-ranging interview.
‘Patrick stated clearly, without qualification, that these attacks were ‘horrific’. He also said that the attacks took place against the backdrop of the horrors in Gaza. At no point did he say, nor would anyone reasonably infer, that there was any justification for the attacks whatsoever.
‘As someone who lost his father to a terrorist attack, Patrick has always been empathic, measured and sensitive on such matters, which he was again on this particular show. Shortly after the Oct 7th attacks in 2023, Patrick signed off the Late Late Show with an expression of sympathy for the victims and a hope for peace that has since been viewed over 3 million times.
‘On Friday’s show Patrick allowed his guest to share his experience and views in a sensitive and editorially appropriate manner.’
