Blyth was asked during the Burberry show for London Fashion Week, what British icon he would like to see for the luxury brand. He replied saying that he would love to see actor Cillian Murphy, who is in fact Irish, working with the brand.
This comment led to major backlash with Irish stars and the general public. The interview was posted to Ladbibles social media account which caught the attention of many Irish celebrities, including Bono's daughter, Eve Hewson, singer Imelda May, and Love Island winner Greg O'Shea.
May commented under the post: “It usually goes like this: ‘I know you Irish are officially not British but… you kinda just are though aren’t you… like I know that you’re all ‘not’ but you all ‘are’ though.’”
O'Shea reacted with a vomiting emoji under the post.
Blyth apologised in an interview with The Standard, admitting that he was "embarassed." “Firstly, I’m so sorry to you and your people. I’ve nothing but respect for the Irish and I love Cillian Murphy," he said in the interview.
Blyth continued to explain that he was jetlagged and was not listening to the question properly. “Oh my God, Cillian Murphy is never going to want to work with me,” he joked. “I genuinely was knackered and just not listening properly. I’ve learned my lesson. Next time, critically hearing is an important thing," he said.
The actor was told that he may be allowed to Murphys home town after apologising, to which Blyth responded with "we’ll see – maybe a little while longer.”
This isn't the first instance that Murphy has been mistaken as British. During an interview alongside Tom Hardy for the film 'Inception', the pair were introduced as 'British actors'. Murphy explained to the interviewer, “nah, I’m Irish,” they responded "yeah, I know, British.” Murphy emphasised "no, no, no, no, there’s a big difference.”
