Anchorman Ron Burgundy challenges Irish leader

Comedy news anchor Ron Burgundy has released a video challenging Enda Kenny to a live debate. It comes after the Irish Taoiseach misspelled Nelson Mandela’s tribal name in the book of condolences.

Ron Burgundy
Ron Burgundy

Kenny addressed his message to ‘Nadiba’ thinking it was the former South African leader’s tribal name. However, he was left red faced as Mandela’s tribal name was actually ‘Madiba’.

Actor Will Ferrell who plays the legendary newscaster released the video to promote the new Anchorman movie which is released in cinemas this week.

In character as Burgandy, Ferrell mispronounced Kenny’s name, calling him ‘Edna’ rather than ‘Enda’ and invited him to take part in a debate on ‘GNN’ with the promise that his ‘gaffes’ would be kept to a minimum.


Burgandy said: Live television is a terrifying beast to master, but I’m here to lend a helping hand.
“I challenge you, Edna Kenny, to a live debate here on GNN.”

“Keep in mind there will be teleprompters, so everything will be scripted and there will be no risk of those pesky gaffes.

“We will of course advertise the debate as live, but in reality, we’ll probably do it on a cosy Saturday afternoon.
“Afterward, we can go see a movie. We’ll make a day of it. It’ll be fun. The world will never know.”

Ferrell has spoken of his love for Ireland in the past and this is the third video he has made specifically for an Irish audience in the last few weeks. He has previously released clips as Burgundy about Irish TV show Love/Hate and another ahead of the Late Late Toy Show.

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, a film about a fictional news team in the 1970s, was popular in America but became a huge hit in Ireland and the UK.

It gained a big cult fan base and the sequel, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, sees the team continue to ply their trade in the 1980s on a rolling 24 hour news channel.

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