Al Porter

Al Porter (born Alan Kavanagh, 6 January 1993) is an Irish comedian, actor, and radio personality active between 2013 and 2017.

Al Porter
Al Porter on stage
Born (1993-01-06) 6 January 1993
Tallaght, Dublin
Years active2013 - 2017

Early and personal life

He was born in Tallaght, Dublin. He is openly gay.

Career

Acting

Porter has been acting since he was 10 years old, and has been the headline attraction in the annual Christmas Pantomime in the Olympia Theatre in Dublin since he was in his early 20s.

Comedy

By the time he was 22 he was also able to sell out Dublin comedy venue Vicar Street for 3 nights as the headline act.

In August 2016, while performing at the Edinburgh Festival he was mistakenly described as a "former panto star" by The Guardian. Despite that error The Guardian conceded "the sheer thrill, frankly, of encountering such a steamroller crowd-pleasing talent."[1] the same routine was described by The London Standard as "superslick stand-up".[2]

Radio host

In 2017, it was announced that Porter would be joining Today FM and taking over the 12pm-2:30pm slot previously held by Dermot and Dave with Porter's show debuting on Monday 13 February 2017.

Television presenting

On 8 October 2017, Porter presented the new series of Blind Date on TV3.[3]

Sexual misconduct allegations

In July 2017, Porter revealed on a podcast that he had been accused of sexual assault by three male classmates in secondary school.[4] On 18 November 2017 the Metro and the Irish edition of The Times reported that Porter has been subject to four allegations from people within the comedy industry of sexual misconduct.[5][6] On the same day his radio employer Today FM released a statement saying that they had spoken with Porter and his management team concerning the allegations.[7] Later that day a spokesperson for Porter said he has agreed to "take some personal time from his lunchtime radio show."[8]

The following day Porter revealed that he resigned from Today FM, with immediate effect, and that he was "completely taken aback by reports in the media". He also expressed his gratitude to Today FM, the Olympia Panto and TV3 for granting him “the space and time” to deal with the situation.[9]

Porter was accused of sexually assaulting a patient at St Patrick's University Hospital during an October 2015 visit, though two investigations revealed no evidence of sexual assault, Porter released a statement expressing that he was pleased with the findings.[10] The Gardaí investigated an alleged sexual assault against a male in his late teens in 2016.[11] In November 2019, this charge was dropped.

Obstructing arrest

On October 6, 2019 Al Porter was arrested in the early morning for obstructing an arrest on Camden Street.[12][13][14] A group of young men began shouting at Gardaí on patrol in Wexford Street.[12][13][14] Gardaí stopped the men and were arresting one of them when Porter intervened saying "No" and "he did not think he should be arrested".[12][13][14] He was arrested for "interfering with the arrest".[12][13][14] His defence council said that he was "trying to be the peacemaker" and that it was "a momentary aberration".[12][13][14] He pleaded guilty to obstructing arrest and Judge Flann Brennan said that in mitigation the defendant pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and he was very apologetic.[12][13][14] He also noted that the defendant had no prior convictions and had not come to further Garda attention.[12][13][14] He warned Porter “Mr Kavanagh, don’t do anything as foolish as this again, mind your own business in future”.[12][13][14] He also said "I will find the facts proven and dismiss. This is the only time I will give you a chance”.[12][13][14] Al Porter thanked the judge and left the court.[12][13][14]

References
  1. Logan, Brian (26 August 2016). "Al Porter review – old-fashioned crowd-pleaser carries on camping". the Guardian. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  2. "This superslick performer has enough charisma to fill the O2 Arena". The London Evening Standard. 26 August 2016.
  3. "Blind Date Ireland kicked off last night, with a Prodigy impression and a Tayto sandwich". Journal. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  4. "Al Porter was accused of sexual assault by classmates when in secondary school". Dublin Live. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  5. "Metro: Irish comedian Al Porter accused of sexual misconduct by four men". Metro. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  6. "The Times: Al Porter sex pest claims". The Times. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  7. "Hot Press: Today FM issues Al Porter statement". Hot Press. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  8. "The Journal: Al Porter to take 'personal time' away from Today FM show". The Journal. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  9. "The Irish Times: Al Porter resigns from Today FM, is 'sorry' for any distress caused". The Irish Times. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  10. "Al Porter 'pleased' with outcome of inquiry but feels 'regret' over making complainant feel 'uncomfortable' - Independent.ie". Independent.ie. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  11. "Hospital stays silent on whether Al Porter allegation was reported to gardaí". The Independent. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  12. "'Mind your own business in future': Al Porter spared jail after admitting he obstructed arrest". TheJournal.ie. 30 October 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  13. Tuite, Tom (30 October 2019). "Comedian Al Porter spared conviction after obstructing arrest". The Irish Times. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  14. "Al Porter spared jail after admitting he obstructed arrest". RTE News. 30 October 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
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