Why does Azealia Banks hate Ireland? The online maelstrom whipped up by Azealia Banks’ recent spat with Conor McGregor has reignited old conversations about the rapper’s long-standing quarrel with Ireland. Watching Banks drop allegations against Conor McGregor is almost business as usual in the chaos of public feuds, but when Ireland enters the chat, things tend to snowball.
Why does Azealia Banks hate Ireland?
Azealia Banks, never one to take the scenic route to controversy, has managed over the years to develop a fiercely antagonistic relationship with Ireland and its people. It all began with an Aer Lingus incident in 2019 that saw her remove herself from a flight bound for Dublin and then take to social media to describe Irish women as “ugly” and claim she was being “treated like a wild animal” by airline staff. As Banks trudged ashore by ferry, she further serenaded Irish onlookers with backhanded quips about Oompa Loompas and the supposedly questionable dietary habits of the island’s women.
One might have expected Azealia Banks to quietly slip into obscurity after such a fiery episode, but instead, she doubled down. The rapper continued her online broadside, branding Irish people “inbred leprechauns” and referencing the Great Famine in messages to social media followers. “Don’t you have a famine to go die in?” she wrote, in a tone more designed to spark outrage than reflection.
If Banks was hoping for diplomatic immunity, she didn’t get it – instead, her remarks were swiftly called out as hateful and, in some cases, threatened with legal action under Irish communications law. Despite these pointed attacks, Banks still managed to take the stage in Dublin, dedicating her performance to “all the beautiful Irish women” in the crowd. But as quickly as she attempted this PR handbrake-turn, her social feeds reverted to the tone of a standoffish tabloid. “I’ve had enough of y’all Oompa-Loompa-looking, spray-tanned, crazy-looking [expletive] tonight,” she posted, adding that locals needed calcium tablets and soap. By this stage, it was clear: whatever nascent bridges might have been built during her concert were swiftly set ablaze before the encore.
On July 14, 2025, rapper Azealia Banks publicly accused former UFC champion Conor McGregor of sending her unsolicited nude photos and threatening messages via social media direct messages. Banks shared explicit screenshots on her official X (formerly Twitter) account, which she claimed were messages and nude selfies sent by McGregor. One of the images was captioned “Lifting weights,” while another included a warning: “Don’t be a rat cos all rats get caught”.
The singer’s combative history with Ireland creates a bizarre backdrop to her latest accusations against Conor McGregor, a figure as polarizing in Ireland as she is herself. Banks’ feelings towards Ireland seem somewhere between performative mischief and genuine disdain.
