Will.I.Am issued an apology after making an “embarrassing mistake” on stage over the Bank Holiday weekend.
While performing with his group the Black Eyed Peas at Pearse Stadium in Salthill, Galway on Saturday he made the unfortunate faux pas.
The rapper reportedly said that “Ireland has the prettiest girls in the UK.”
He took to Twitter to write: “I’m so sorry for that mistake…Please forgive my ignorance and accept my apology…#LOVE…”
Yet Will.I.Am is not the first person to make this mistake.
Here’s a list of other people who got their geography mixed up.
1. UK journalist claims Saoirse Ronan is British
In the wake of her2016 Bafta nomination for her performance in Brooklyn, journalist Richard Suchet remarked on Sky News that the UK could regard Saoirse Ronan as “one of our own.”
After being called out for the statement Suchet only dug himself into a deeper hole.
In response to a piece written about him on the RTE website he wrote: “She's from the British Isles, whether you like it or not, Brits will be willing her to win. Glad you got an article out of it tho.”
After much backlash he later apologised.
2. Conor McGregor corrects UFC boss
In 2015 UFC president Dana White got Ireland and the UK confused when conducting a pre-Aldo fight interview.
While speaking to McGregor he said: “All of Brazil will be watching him defend his title, all of the UK will be watching. You’ll have Canada, United States, Australia.
McGregor responded: Ireland will be watching.
Not helping his case White responded: “Ireland, Ireland. I thought that was the same thing, apparently not.”
An unimpressed McGregor then stated: “It is most certainly not.”
White later claimed he made the statement deliberately to wind the fighter up.
3. Samuel L Jackson steps in
When his SWAT co-star Colin Farrell was called British during an interview Jackson decided to speak up.
English journalist and television presenter Kate Thornton called “him one of our own.”
An impressed Jackson took matters into his own hands stating:
“See that’s your problem right there. People in the UK have a big problem claiming people who aren’t theirs. We had that problem here in America too, it was called slavery.”
4. Cillian Murphy repeatedly corrects interviewer
Cillian Murphy has repeatedly told people he is in fact Irish and not British but perhaps most famously during an interview ahead of the release of Inception back in 2010.
While sitting next to Tom Hardy, the interviewer claimed the pair were both British. Murphy firmly replies “no, I’m Irish.”
Not taking the hint the interviewer continues “yeah I know, British.”
Murphy doesn’t back down again replying “no, no, no, I’m Irish.”
At this point the interviewer realises his mistake and apologies all the while Tom Hardy is trying to keep it together.
5. UK paper issues an apology for claiming Katie Taylor is British
The Daily Telegraph, had to apologise after writing ‘Can anyone beat Britain’s Katie Taylor, the most technically proficient attacking boxer in the world?’ ahead of the women’s lightweight Olympic semi-finals back in 2012.
After Twitter had a field day with the stuff up the paper issued this apology: “We’re sorry for mistakenly describing the fantastic boxer Katie Taylor as British in our London 2012 section today. She is Irish, of course.”
