Ayo Edebiri has won herself legions of fans in Ireland after she inexplicably (and hilariously) claimed she played Jenny the Donkey in the Irish film "The Banshees of Inisherin."
“Preparing for that? I lived in Ireland - Oireland - for about four months and I got really into character," Edebiri said in some sort of an Irish accent while walking the carpet at SXSW in March 2023.
“I was on all fours for four months and it was really painful but beautiful as well.
“And it was probably the most fulfilling part of my career and I’m so happy for everybody going to the Oscars, even though I deserved the nomination more than anybody else, because I was obviously a donkey for four months.”
Shifting back into her American accent, Edebiri continued: “Oh my god, sorry. I literally - I was there, you know what I mean? I slipped back into it.
“Yeah, but, it was very fulfilling. It was very fulfilling. And I want little girls out there everywhere to know that they, too, can be a donkey one day.”
The clip of Edebiri claiming to be Jenny the Donkey was shared online by Letterboxd and soon went viral.
@letterboxd No thoughts… just Ayo Edebiri as Jenny the Donkey #fyp #foryou #letterboxd #sxsw #ayoedebiri #movie #film #filmtok #bansheesofinisherin #irish ♬ original sound - Letterboxd
Of course, Edebiri is not Irish. She was raised in the Dorchester area of Boston (an area which, coincidentally, has distinct Irish roots) by her Barbadian and Nigerian parents.
Despite any discernable links to Ireland, Edebiri managed to endear herself to legions of Irish fans ever since her Jenny the Donkey claims, swiftly becoming a meme throughout the 'Irish Twitter' community.
In November, Edebiri doubled down on her Irish claims, referring to her "home nation of Ireland" in a post on TikTok while announcing the release of her film "Bottoms."
Ireland native, Ayo Edebiri via TikTok. pic.twitter.com/bcQxJXdXac
— Ayo Edebiri Updates (@ayosource) November 9, 2023
More recently, Edebiri was fervently embraced by her Irish fans in the lead-up to the 2024 Golden Globe Awards where she was nominated (and won!) in the Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy category for her role in “The Bear."
Ireland winning big tonight!!! pic.twitter.com/6A9tN5CUd3
— Mike (@michaelcollado) January 8, 2024
A few days later, the Film In Dublin X account went viral after it congratulated "Ireland's own" Edebiri for her 2024 BAFTA Rising Star Award nomination.
for the record yes we do know where Edebiri is actually from (ireland)
— Film In Dublin (@filmindublin) January 10, 2024
Edebiri even responded to Film in Dublin's post with an Instagram story with the Irish phrase "go díreach..." which means "Exactly."
Ayo Edebiri responded to Film in Dublin's post on Instagram.
Film In Dublin has since upped the ante, publishing a post about all of the Irish films that Edebiri has 'starred' in - from "Michael Collins" to "The Commitments."
From Jenny the Donkey to the van in The Van, Ayo Edebiri has a long, and legitimate, string of credits in Irish cinema. Here are the best Irish films starring Ireland’s Ayo Edebiri, who is Irish: https://t.co/QaZ2qstavj pic.twitter.com/gSLu8C6nFA
— Film In Dublin (@filmindublin) January 10, 2024
Well done, Ayo. You've done Ireland proud.
Comments