Donal Skehan Claps Back with Humor After Samantha Mumba’s Eurovision Critique

The infelicitous comment by Samantha Mumba, a famous Irish artist and pop singer, aimed at a panel of five judges for the Irish European Song Contest who picked Skehan to represent Ireland for the 2025 contest has gone viral alongside criticism and praise.

Donal Skehan, a famous Irish chef and television broadcaster, attempted to treat this issue lightly.

• He is currently one of the well-known personalities in the Irish entertainment industry.
• His approach, using an emoji of a laughing face with tears, shows his efforts to maintain a light-hearted tone.

Why Did It All Start?

Unfortunately for Mumba, the judging selection for who is selected to represent the country at the Eurovision contest is not done in a professional way, as she put it on social media.

She even went further to criticize the decision-making.

• She did not spell out names, but her comments about noticing baselessness and laughable options are directed towards Skehan having all the fun.

While trying to roast people on her social media account, Mumba used the eggplant emoji—a move that surprised a lot of people, capturing the attention of a wide audience and leading to the estimation of the judging panel.

• Four days after the comments were made, rather than engaging in heated debates, Skehan interpreted the post as a meme and changed over to the eggplant emoji on his account.
• His move deflated a lot of the heated debate, and he is now perceived as a funny guy.

Donal Skehan’s Playful Response

He posted a couple of Instagram photos, which also had his stories on them, claiming things along the lines of:

✔️ “If the emoji fits, it’s time to wear it! 🍆😂”

✔️ “I guess the aubergine guy is me now!”

He does this usually and has received so much support from fans who applauded him for turning controversy into entertainment.

With the Fans & On Social Media

Social media users were quick to weigh in, with many siding with Skehan’s playful response:

🔥 “This is the kind of energy we need in the entertainment industry. Donal Skehan for Eurovision judge head 2026!” – @EurofanUSA

😂 “To be honest, everything about this situation is hilarious. Samantha Mumba against Donal Skehan. The remix we never wanted.” – @MusicInsider25

🎶 “The best sort of drama is Eurovision drama. Donal Skehan, aka Princess Aubergine, is the hero we didn’t know we needed.” – @PopCultureDaily

Skehan and Mumba seem to have some playful banter, but neither appears to carry any tension.

What Comes After Ireland’s Entry for Eurovision 2025 Is Confirmed?

Ireland’s delegation to the Eurovision Song Contest has recently confirmed their representative for this year’s contest, shifting the attention back to the competition.

• Irish followers of the competition are hopeful that Switzerland will host Eurovision 2025, giving Ireland a chance to up its scores after failing to pass the semifinal round for quite some time now.
• Currently, Skehan is still active in television and cooking, showing once again how some wit can ease the blow of controversies in public life.