Former Irish presidential election hopeful Gareth Sheridan has said a Christmas party at which he was pictured with controversial ex-Fox News host Tucker Carlson was “not a political event”.
Mr Sheridan, who made an unsuccessful bid to get on the presidential election ticket earlier this year, posted photos from the party in Nashville in the United States on his TikTok account.
The party was hosted by Alp Pouch, a nicotine pouch brand launched by Mr Carlson. It was attended by a number of figures from US right-wing politics, including conservative campaigner Candace Owens.
There were also celebrities in attendance, including country rapper Jelly Roll, who posed for a picture alongside Mr Sheridan. The Irish businessman captioned the pictures saying: “kicking off Christmas season in Nashville”.
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Mr Carlson was one of Fox News’s biggest stars until he was fired in 2023. He now hosts a show on his own network and has interviewed Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Mr Sheridan is the founder and chief executive of pharmaceutical company Nutriband.
The company’s lead product is Aversa, which it describes as “abuse-deterrent transdermal technology”, which incorporates aversive agents to prevent the abuse, diversion, misuse, and accidental exposure of drugs with abuse potential, specifically opioids.
In a statement to The Irish Times on his attendance at the party, Mr Sheridan said: “Last week we attended a Christmas event in which we knew many of the attendees are passionate about or advocates for tackling the opioid and fentanyl crisis.
“We had engaging conversations about Aversa and what our company Nutriband is doing in the space and raising awareness for our technology.”
He added: “This was not a political event and as I have said all along people can be cordial and respectful and even friendly with one another even if their views on certain things do not align.”
Mr Sheridan also said neither the opioid crisis nor victims of the crisis care what side of politics someone is on. He said Jelly Roll, as an example, has spoken passionately to the US senate on fentanyl abuse and was in attendance.
Mr Sheridan was unsuccessful in his bid to get on the presidential election ballot paper earlier this year. He got the backing of two local authorities – Kerry and Tipperary – but needed nominations from four councils to officially enter the race.
