Comedian and actress Heather McMahan apologized on Wednesday after she took part in an expletive-laden chant directed at Rory McIlroy while she was serving as the MC at the Ryder Cup last weekend.
McMahan stepped down from her post as the event’s MC at Bethpage Black in New York on Sunday morning after she participated in a chant with fans over the course’s microphone. McMahan started directing fans in a “DeChambeau!” chant, but it quickly transitioned into a, “F*** you, Rory!” chant. McMahan then joined in over the microphone.
The PGA of America, which runs the Ryder Cup when it is held in the United States, quickly released a statement and said that McMahan both had sent an apology to McIlroy and stepped down from her post.
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McMahan addressed the incident on an episode of her podcast on Wednesday, and said it was a “horrible mistake.”
“I would just like to say that I immediately did not like the energy and the vibe from when that started to happen. I will take full responsibility, and sincerely apologize to Rory [McIlroy], team Europe for saying that,” she said. “It was so foolish of me.
“I did not start the chant, I would just like that narrative to get out there. I did not start it, but any way that I participated in that, even just saying it once, was so foolish and so silly of me.”
McMahan said that she quickly tried to calm the crowd after feeling the “energy” shift.
“It went from us trying to be fun and funny and like get it going, to immediately just was negative and felt really toxic,” she said. “As soon as I said that I was like, ‘I don’t want any part of this. This was just getting weird and I don’t know how to control this crowd of 4,000 dudes at five o’clock in the morning, shouting crazy s***.’
“As soon as that happened, I immediately turned to my producer and said ‘let’s just get the DJ to play music. I don’t know what to do with this audience right now, so I’m not going to participate.’”
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The incident was one of seemingly countless in which American fans harassed McIlroy and European players throughout the Ryder Cup, which Europe won 15-13. McIlroy had to step away from his ball repeatedly throughout matches while fans were heckling him, the PGA of America sent out extra police halfway through a match to help control a crowd, and his wife Erica had a drink launched her way at one point.
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There was even an instance when McIlroy fired back at the crowd and told a fan to “shut the f*** up!” after they were harassing him before a shot. McIlroy then stuck his approach within a few feet, which he later said felt “very f***ing satisfying.”
“I think golf should be held to a higher standard than what was seen out there this week,” McIlroy said. “Golf has the ability to unite people. … It teaches you how to respect people. Sometimes this week, we didn’t see that. So, no, this should not be what is acceptable in the Ryder Cup.”
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