Louis Walsh confesses to faking plane crash in Boyzone publicity stunt
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Former music mogul Louis Walsh has shockingly admitted to faking a plane crash when manager of Boyzone. The former X Factor judge has revealed that he leaked a number of false stories about the Irish boyband in a bid to get them more publicity. One such lie was a plane crash, telling the press that the group - made up of Ronan Keating, Shane Lynch, Keith Duffy, Stephen Gately and Mikey Graham - had survived the terrifying ordeal.
In an explosive new documentary about the group titled Boyzone: No Matter What, the 72-year-old's actions are revealed to the viewers. He was described in the programme as being the 'master puppeteer of the press'. In a new trailer for the show, Louis is heard saying: "Sometimes, the boys would read stories in the papers about themselves that weren't true and they'd say 'Who told them that?' I did! I told them.".
Frontman Ronan is then seen explaining: "He believed any story was a good story. He would make up stories constantly about the band, about relationships with girlfriends that were non-existent.". In his extravagant false plane crash story, Louis even confessed he forgot to tell the families of the singers before leaking the fake news. "There was no plane crash, but it got a good story," he admitted.
Despite spreading lies, Louis said that he never felt guilty and just saw it as a way to gain publicity. "I was doing my job," he said. "But I would do it all again, yeah. Absolutely. I'd do it even more now.". Louis' lies are said to have had an effect on the group. Ronan claimed his actions were "hugely scarring". Speaking in 2023, Ronan explained how Louis blew the plane crash story way out of proportion. He told Magic FM at the time: "We were in Australia doing a promotional tour. We took a plane to a place called Broken Hill, in the middle of Australia.
