On a night when an orange rain warning was in effect for Dublin and Wicklow, Late Late Show viewers were deserving of a code red perspiration alert thanks to Belgian strongman Jean Claude Van Damme, who put in a sweaty and surreal appearance on tonight's LLS.
'The Muscles From Brussels' was in Ireland this week to celebrate the launch of Old Oak, a new brand of Irish whiskey that he co-owns that is made in Derry. Van Damme spent a few days around Belfast midweek to celebrate the whiskey, and his 63rd birthday, and the city must have made an impression on him, as he told the Late Late audience that 'he was delighted to be in Belfast'.
As Van Damme's interview with Patrick Kielty unfolded, it was patently clear that the 'Kickboxer' star was coping with a severe case of the sweats.
Jean-Claude Van Damme
sweating more than me at a job interview
#LateLate pic.twitter.com/U3p3yLkIBk— Michael Lynch (@myke_83) October 20, 2023
Jean Claude Van Damme had big “Aunty Cath is back on the fags” energy.#LateLate#LateLateShow pic.twitter.com/7E31fZnWVg
— Niecy O'Keeffe (@NiecyOKeeffe) October 20, 2023
Is Jean Claude Van Damme half cut on the #LateLateShow?
He's sweating like a wax work that's melting pic.twitter.com/rKjO00dT7j— Eoin Kelleher (@eoinyk) October 20, 2023
Jean-Claude van Damme sweating more than Christy Moore after belting out Lisdoonvarna#latelate
— Katie Connole (@katieconnole) October 20, 2023
Jean Claude Van Damme on #latelateshow looks like someone ordered Robert Downey Jr on Wish... And then melted him in the microwave. pic.twitter.com/gX7D6oSOoI
— Caroline O'Connell is Weird Barbie IRL❤️🏳️⚧️ (@Gruaig_Rua) October 20, 2023
Jean Claude Van Damme looks like he is one of the RTE executives up in front of the public accounts committee #latelate pic.twitter.com/uhlMo9CBVu
— Stephen Ryan (@MarketingInCork) October 20, 2023
Jean-Claude Van Damme #latelate pic.twitter.com/nuGfuomDYG
— Paul Cashin (@PaulCashin_) October 20, 2023
Kielty then donned flesh-coloured tights and embarked on a guided martial arts routine with Van Damme keeping a watchful eye on him.
Well we weren’t expecting THIS 👀 #latelate @PatricKielty @JCVD pic.twitter.com/wIRFZ6W3H2
— The Late Late Show (@RTELateLateShow) October 20, 2023
To round things off, the great Liam Brady was brought on stage and took a seat beside Van Damme. It was Friday night television at its most surreal.
Liam Brady & Jean-Claude Van Damme - together at last!! 😁 #LateLateShow pic.twitter.com/fQKDtw2t3l
— Grace O'Sullivan (@gosulli) October 20, 2023
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Jean Claude Van Damme's interest in Irish whiskey
Before this week, few of us knew of Van Damme's passion for whiskey. On the Old Oak website, van Damme expalins how he got interested in Irish whiskey.
“I was looking for my own brand of whiskey, possibly an American bourbon and then one of my close friends and Business associates asked ‘why an American whiskey when you can go back to the roots of whiskey and find an Irish whiskey’."
“He then introduced me to the Old Oak whiskey label which had yet to be launched and had been put together by some Whiskey aficionados in Ireland"
Old Oak is yet to go on sale, but Van Damme says it's delicious, and who are you to disagree with him?
