Jennifer Zamparelli has given her take on the RTÉ payments scandal and has condemned the “unfair” backlash that many of her colleagues have faced.
RTÉ stars have been scrutinised since it was revealed in June that Ryan Tubridy had been overpaid by €345,000.
Despite the deals being separate to their RTÉ contracts, it is now believed that they all future deals must be approved by a line manager at the broadcaster.
Among those who faced backlash were Lottie Ryan and Doireann Garrihy, with Lottie being ordered to remove an ad for a car company on Instagram after it was filmed on RTÉ’s grounds without permission.
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Doireann also had to remove and ad for a brand of porridge after it was also captured on the RTÉ premises without permission.
Jennifer told the Irish Independent: “People make mistakes. Lottie was saying herself that she made a mistake.
“She was quite upset about it and I think we all need to move on from that.”
Despite agreeing that the public interest in these brand deals is “relevant”, the Dancing With The Stars presenter said the backlash they faced over it made her “uncomfortable”.
“People went to town on Doireann [Garrihy] for example… and Marty [Morrissey], they were nearly high-fiving Marty for getting a car. So, that made me uncomfortable, you know?” she said.
Jennifer also spoke candidly about the payments scandal and admitted that while it was “disheartening”, she felt “sorry” for Ryan.
The mum of two said she was “quite shocked” to learn of the overpayments but had “empathy” for the former Late Late Show host.
Jennifer said he made a “mistake” but questioned if the scandal was worth Ryan losing his career over.
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