It was shortly before 3 p.m. yesterday when comedian Al Porter posted a lengthy statement on his website, which quickly went viral.
aside from some comments made in 2019 in the wake of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) dropping their investigation into sexual assault allegations, it was the first time he broke his silence and went into detail about his life in the past five years.
The comedian spoke of “being sober for a long time”, how he lives a quiet life at his parents’ home in Tallaght and his hopes of reviving his comedy career.
It was immediately apparent that this was a very different Al Porter than the one who had reached dizzying heights in the Irish media world before it all collapsed in a few short days in November 2017.
At the time, he seemed to have the world at his feet after landing an excellent lunchtime with Today FM while also fronting blind date on TV3, now Virgin Media TV.
He played sold-out shows in Ireland, was a regular in BBC comedy shows and shortly before he disappeared from public life, he would star in a Christmas pantomime he co-wrote.
The star, whose real name is Alan Kavanagh, was sociable and outgoing, always appearing over 24 thanks to his extremely confident appearance.
He spent a brief stint at Trinity College Dublin after earning 580 points in his Leaving Cert, but dropped out after a few months when he decided “academia was not for me”.
He once named Graham Norton as his ultimate comedy hero, but boasted in an interview that he was “further down the career path than Graham at age 24”.
And he was right: Few stars had managed to land prime time slots on both TV and radio in their early 20s while still putting on live shows.
He did it all while continuing to live at home in Springfield in Tallaght with his parents Marian and Mick.
A former newspaper columnist, he was a media darling and could be trusted to provide colorful quotes and revealing insights into his world.
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His fall from grace was astonishingly quick after a series of tweets published in November 2017 claiming that inappropriate behavior destroyed his career in a matter of days.
It wasn’t until two full years later that the DPP announced that it was closing an investigation into a case of sexual assault in Dublin, which allegedly took place in late 2016, effectively clearing his name.
He made a brief statement out of court at the time, but made no effort to venture back into public life.
In his statement posted yesterday on his website, he said he would ” wish no one those two years” and that his life “has changed beyond recognition”.
“I live a quiet life these days, very different from the future I ever imagined,” he said.
“At the time, I was a 24-year-old comedian with an exciting road ahead and doing the job I loved.
“As I write this, I am sitting at the kitchen table at my parents’ house, where I live, in Tallaght.
“I am fit and healthy and sober for a long time.”
He said when the allegations were leveled against him: “In 48 hours I felt like I had lost everything.
“I learned through a newspaper article that a complaint had been lodged with the gardaí for assault against me. I immediately and repeatedly contacted the gardaí, but it took a year before I was told what the accusation actually was, which I denied.
“It took another year for the director of the Public Prosecution Service to withdraw the charges against me. I wouldn’t wish those two years on anyone.”
He said he had received death threats during that time and read fake headlines stating that he had died by suicide.
Porter said the controversy started with people tweeting about him and some of them were from the comedy scene and he considered them “good friends”.
“These were guys I looked up to. I was only 19 when we all met, and they were the older, more experienced comics.
“They said publicly that I had been inappropriate with them at the time. Some said they laughed then, but they felt uncomfortable,” he said.
“I remember events differently and we kept in touch for years, messaging online and working and socializing together in person.
“Although I got higher bills and got some bigger gigs, I was never in a position of power over anyone, despite what some people may have written.”
“I’ve let the people I worked with in the lurch. And I disappointed the people who came to my shows’
He has reflected on his life during his five years out of the limelight, saying he was “hugely immature” between the ages of 19 and 24.
“In my personal life, I could be a mess, oblivious to the times I was annoying. I didn’t consider others enough because I was too busy thinking the world revolved around me,” he said.
“Not to put it too nice, I was an idiot. I abandoned my family and friends.
“I have disappointed my partner, who has been with me before and through it all. I’ve let down my community, Tallaght, the comedy scene and the LGBTQ+ community.
“I have let down the people I worked with. And I’ve disappointed the people who came to my shows and have always supported me,” he said.
In deciding to step back from the limelight, he said he took “these issues in my personal life very seriously”.
“I decided to relinquish all my work obligations because I couldn’t possibly keep working and handle everything else.
“From the age of 19 my life had been a runaway train. I had burned the candle at both ends, leaving me overwhelmed and unable to cope,” he said.
He spoke of getting a “big wake-up call” from what’s happened over the years.
“I paid a high price and learned my lessons the hard way and in the most public way imaginable,” he said.
“As someone who made a living making people laugh, I’m also aware that I can’t make everyone happy, but as they say, we can fail, sail we must. I’d rather fail on my terms than sail on anyone else’s.”
He said he’s had numerous offers to go back on stage over the years but that he “just wasn’t ready”.
He is looking forward to better days and would like to “make people laugh again”.
But what does the future hold for Porter and will he be able to rekindle his once-bright media career?
Will he be able to rebuild and move on with everything that has happened?
An industry veteran said he “definitely can” and he is determined to get back on stage and perform in front of a live audience again, with the UK clearly an opportunity for him.
Shortly before the controversy erupted, Porter had signed a deal for a four-part autobiographical comedy series with BBC Radio 4 in a massive coup for the star.
The same year, he played a sold-out run at London’s Soho Theater while his hit show Al Porter in general was nominated for Best Show at Edinburgh Comedy Festival.
He has also clocked appearances on BBCs Live At The Apollo and Michael McIntyre’s big show†
Watching across the water to fresh pastures and new audiences in the UK could be a serious opportunity for the comedian and he could even return “bigger than ever before”.
“He is level-headed and has done a tremendous amount of work on himself,” added the industry veteran.
“If he tries and it doesn’t work, he’s strong enough to move on. But it will be on its own terms, not anyone else’s.
“It’s not easy when you have such a huge fall from grace, but he has a huge talent and he can definitely get his career back.
“He’s had a lot of gig offers lately, but he just wasn’t ready yet. He is now.”
Porter was clearly optimistic about the future, ending his statement with Oscar Wilde’s quote: “Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. Mine begins now.”