Comeback comedian Al Porter said he's learned to live with people who call him a 'pervert' and that he has rediscovered his love of performing as a stand-up comedian.
In a wide-ranging interview with the Irish Mail on Sunday, the Dubliner also insists that, following an extended spell in the wilderness, he does not care if TV and radio opportunities no longer come his way.
And he said his on-stage performance has matured with the years, and that he is no longer 'as camp as I used to be'.
Al, who is in a long-term relationship, said of his previous on-stage persona: 'In retrospect, I think some of it was kind of put on because you thought that's what was expected at the time. Or I think it was my age more than anything and my nervousness.
'But listen, I'm still gay, there's no denying that, but maybe I've just toned things down.'
Al is back on the stand-up circuit following accusations of inappropriate behaviour from some of his colleagues on the comedy circuit.
At the time, the Tallaght entertainer was at the very height of his fame. As well as his comedy gigs, he had TV and radio shows, a column in a national newspaper and there was even a Netflix special in the works.
Then, in a matter of days, it was all gone. Porter's professional and personal life fell apart when she was accused of a sex attack dating back to late 2016. In November 2019, he walked free from court after a charge of sexually assaulting a young man at a Dublin venue was dropped.
And now, six years on, an older and wiser Porter-whose real name is Alan Kavanagh-is - is a firm believer that: 'If it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger'.
He said it was during his spell in the 'wilderness' that he rediscovered 'what I really loved, and that was performing. That's what I did when I was five, six, seven years old, getting up and wanting to read poems. I would write poems to my class and entertain them and be wheeled from classroom to classroom as if I was the TV.
'So that's what I missed. I didn't miss TV. I didn't miss the radio. I didn't miss writing for newspapers.' He added that while he would 'consider' offers for media work, 'I am in no way yearning for it.' He told the MoS: 'I'm not trying to prove anything. This is me, Alan Kavanagh, is Al Porter. We're the same person.
'I found when my life fell apart, that people used to try and use the fact that Al Porter wasn't my real name, people tried to use that against me in a weird way, like almost, to try to suggest l am false altogether.'
The comedian said he decided to change his stage name to Porter because, 'when I was starting out there was a singer on [former RTÉ music competition series] You're a Star called Alan Kavanagh. So I chose the name Al Porter and I loved it. And I still like that name. I'm proud of it.'
AL candidly admits he is 'ashamed that I brought trouble onto that name and I dragged that name through the mud, fairly and unfairly'. But he said he never considered dropping his stage name or to even temporarily move abroad to start anew.
'People said to me, "did you never think of going to Australia? Did you ever think of doing stand-up comedy in America and then coming home?" And I would say to them, "I'm not in the business of running away," like I'm not gonna change my name.'
Now firmly back on the stand-up circuit and playing to packed theatres, Porter said he has learned to live with criticism or hate that lingers on long after the scandal that turned his life upside down.
'Look, there might be some people who hear my name who go, "Oh, him. Is he not a pervert?" And look, I can live with that. I truly believe that whatever happens I'm going to have a good life.
'I do believe that if I continue on the track I'm on, it'll be more people than not that associate that name with more good than bad.
'That's one of the things I love about doing comedy now. I've never been freer because I'm like, "well, you know, I've got nothing to lose and everything to give."
'I mean, what could people write about me that they haven't already written?'
