Singer Samantha Mumba has criticised the Eurosong judging panel after she missed out on being selected as Ireland’s Eurovision entry for the 2025 contest.
Mumba performed the song My Way on Friday night’s Late Late Eurosong Special.
The winning entry was Norwegian singer Emmy, with her track Laika Party.
She qualifies for Ireland because Kilbeggan-based singer-songwriter Larissa Tormey co-wrote the song. The pair met at a songwriting camp in Norway and, along with three other writers, co-wrote it.
Emmy and Mumba were tied after the final round of public votes.
In a post on Instagram, Mumba said the judging panel "didn't have the credentials".
The Eurosong panel included last year’s act Bambie Thug, television presenter Donal Skehan, radio presenter Laura Fox, and dancer Arthur Gourounlian.
“Special mention to the ‘panel’ (aside from Bambie who I stan) who not only didn’t have the credentials, experience or professionalism required and were unnecessarily rude and vile to all the finalists - my parting gift them is a bag of [aubergine emoji] to slowly choke on,” Mumba wrote in her social media post.
“Would have said this in person but they all left the green room before I had the opportunity to unsurprisingly,” she added.
“I’ve been in this industry for over 20 years, trust me that panel is nothing! There were literal prior Eurovision winners on the show- if anyone was qualified to critique the songs and performances it should have been them. Not dancers or chefs. And that’s my opinion.”
In response to her criticism, Skehan said Mumba's comments were “completely unprofessional”.
“Each of us was chosen for our experience, insights, and passion for Eurovision,” he wrote on Instagram.
“We are extremely grateful to the Late Late Show Eurosong panel for their professionalism, insight, integrity and good humour. Their role is to give their honest reaction to the performances on the night, offering their thoughts on the likely success of the song and act at the Eurovision Song Contest,” an RTÉ spokesperson said.
“Our panel did this in a thoughtful and considered way. It seems this was in line with the public vote that ultimately made the decision on the artist and song they wished to represent Ireland at this year’s contest. It's never easy to offer a personal opinion, as not everyone will agree. Our panel did that with the utmost care and we wish to extend our thanks to them for the excellent job they did on Friday night.”
