Oscar nominated actor Paul Mescal cleared up “some ugly stereotypes about the Irish” during his Saturday Night Live monologue on the US sketch comedy show.
His show debut also involved him flying on a broomstick singing “there’s no place like Rome”, in a nod to the new Wicked movie, for a sketch where Gladiator II had been turned into a musical. The Normal People star, 28, said: “I do take great pride in being Irish.
“The Irish people have been through a lot, you know, centuries of British occupation, the great famine, mass emigration, that U2 album that automatically got downloaded on everyone’s phones. So before we start the show, I just want to clear up some ugly stereotypes about the Irish.
“For example, there’s a nasty rumour that Irish people have sex with our cousins, right? That’s offensive and ridiculous. We have sex with our second cousins. People also think the Irish hate British people. That’s not true. We just don’t consider them people.
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SNL)“Sometimes people ask me if I think Notre Dame’s mascot, the Fighting Irish, is offensive. Not at all. We do the same thing with the Americans. In fact, my high school’s mascot was the fighting fat asses.” Then, in reference to commentary online about the shorts Mescal has been pictured wearing, he said: “A lot of people ask if we wear kilts, no, that’s the Scottish. Traditionally, the Irish wear short shorts.”
It comes after Paul remarked on rubbing shoulders with royalty at his latest film premiere. The star admitted the meeting with King Charles wasn't exactly on his agenda while at the 'Gladiator II' world premiere last month. Paul stars as adult Lucius in Ridley Scott's sequel to the classic film. Last month, the movie premiered at London's Leicester Square as the King made a solo appearance at the event.
He walked the red carpet alone as wife Queen Camilla rested following her recent chest infection. The London gala marked the new King's first film premiere and benefited the Film and TV Charity in its centennial year. A-listers like Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal also featured among the guests.
Paul talked to Variety during the Los Angeles red carpet about his brush with the King, saying: "How wild is it? It’s definitely not something that I thought was in the bingo cards. I’m Irish, so it’s not on the list of priorities. But it’s an amazing thing for Ridley because I know how important that is for him."
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English (US) ·