TV presenter Katie Owen ridiculed over her Welsh accent at awards

Fast-rising TV and radio presenter Katie Owen has posted on social media about how her Welsh accent was ridiculed by two women who said they hate Welsh people.

Katie, who is from Merthyr and is one of the most in-demand young presenters in the UK, shared her story of how she was doing interviews on the red carpet at a business awards in London last night, when she encountered the anti-Welsh comments.

She posted on Twitter: "On a job tonight, doing interviews on the red carpet at an event, just walked into the toilets and heard two women slagging me off, saying my accent was jarring and they can’t do an interview with me because they hate Welsh people and don’t want to hear my accent."

On a job tonight, doing interviews on the red carpet at an event, just walked into the toilets and heard two women slagging me off, saying my accent was jarring and they can’t do an interview with me because they hate Welsh people and don’t want to hear my accent 🙃

— Katie Owen (@Katieeowen_) January 26, 2023

Katie told Nation Cymru that the pair had earlier refused to do an interview with her - and how upset she had been on hearing their comments.

"I don’t know what business they were with or who they were because they refused to do an interview and speak to me," she said. "I was upset and trying to remain professional. Then I overheard their conversation in the toilet when I was in the cubicle, they were doing impressions of Welsh accents too and laughing, when I walked out they went quiet and quickly left, I only saw them again at the end of the night quickly leaving."

Katie whose tweet has now gone viral, also wanted to stress that the company she was working with were wonderful and didn't want them to receive any negativity.

"I also just want to flag up too, the company running the awards were absolutely lovely and a pleasure to work with. I don’t want them to receive any negativity from my tweet. I was just venting about those two women and didn’t expect it to blow up."

In response Katie had hundreds of people reply to her tweet telling her how wonderful her Welsh accent is and to ignore those who criticised her.

Get to know Katie...

Born in the Valleys of South Wales, Katie Owen is a London-based DJ and Presenter.

Katie recently headed out to the World Cup 2022, where she hyped up the crowds while DJing for the British Council and the Welsh Arts International. Nearly fluent in Welsh, she was also asked to act as an ambassador for Wales showcasing Welsh language, history and culture and appeared on international TV for networks such as BBC News World alongside fellow ambassadors, including football legend Ian Rush and Olympian broadcaster Colin Jackson. She was also Capital South Wales’ football correspondent, giving fans the latest updates and feel for the atmosphere during the tournament. Throughout her visit, she also filmed social content for TalkSport and JD Sports.

Katie landed the spot as tour DJ for Kasabian on their 2021 UK tour, this saw her playing at iconic venues across the country such as the O2 Academy Brixton. She’s also supported Blossoms & Rick Astley in 2021, iconic SKA band Madness in Dubai and South Africa 2020 and Jo Whiley’s 90s anthems in 2019.

Katie made her TV debut on Welsh-language show ‘Iaith ar Daith’ produced by Boom Cymru which aired on S4C in 2022 and has subsequently appeared on their popular chat show ‘Hansh’.

Katie has packed out tents at many legendary music festivals such as Isle Of Wight, Y Not, Neighbourhood, Tramlines, Snowbombing and more. After securing herself as a well-known face on the festival circuit, Katie was asked to host the Main Stage at Leeds Festival in 2021 and again in 2022. She was also the Welsh Fire DJ at The Hundred 2022, for BBC Music Introducing.

She is also a lifelong football fan, which sees her DJing at multiple Wales fixtures. Katie also hosted a podcast special combining sport and music for BBC Wales and fronted SportBible’s social content for the Women’s Euros in 2022.

Katie is an animal lover and is an ambassador for the The Rescue Hotel, a dogs home in Cardiff. She also works with Musicians Against Homelessness and Teenage Cancer Trust.

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