RTE radio star Jennifer Zamparelli this morning cut a controversial planned face mask segment from her show due to a public kickback.
It had been an 'emotional 24 hours' for the Baldoyle, Dubln native.
She had tweeted on Monday night: “We are having an open discussion on my show… about face masks.
“Do you have strong opinions on wearing them or not wearing them? I’d love to hear from you. Mail me.”
She announced on the show this morning that she wouldn't be running the discussion on strong opinions about face masks.
She said on RTE 2fm: “It's been an emotional 24 hours.
“Yes, I put out a tweet without thinking about the words I used.
"The intention of my tweet was very different to what was interpreted.
"I wanted your reaction on the weekend.”
There was an anti mask protest in Dublin on Saturday.
It took place outside Leinster House.
Zamparellis said she had been wearing a mask before they were made compulsory in certain circumstances by the Irish Government.
Jennifer added that she used the word 'discussion' and 'people assumed I’d be giving a platform to anti maskers.'
The show had “booked a great guest to speak about people refusing to wear masks in a global pandemic when these people still think they are above it.
“Who are these people? I wanted to understand them because I’ve been wearing my mask since before they were made mandatory.
“People have died .. the scenes over the weekend horrified me."
She realised that her using the word discussion had set off anger and hurt.
Jennifer added: "To be honest it really shocked me, it shocked me as someone wearing a face mask since before we had to.”
“It’s very clear people don’t want this conversation to happen.
“Judging from the reaction, we will not be doing this item today.”
Jennifer encouraged people to wear masks for their safety and the safety of others.
