Sean Spicer has been out of work for almost six months, but that did not stop the former White House Press Secretary from cashing in on his 15 minutes of fame over the weekend.
The man who was once set to become Ambassador to Ireland traveled overseas to the Emerald Isle for the weekend, having booked a spot on the long-running RTE program The Late, Late Show.
And while in Dublin, Spicer stayed at The Shelbourne, a swanky hotel where rooms go for upwards of $5,000 each night.
It is not clear how Spicer paid for his room and what accommodations he was provided by the talk show, but many seem to believe he was put up for free in exchange for social media posts.
That is due to postings that appeared on his social media accounts which tagged the property, @theshelbournedublin, and its owner, @marriotthotels.
National pride: Sean Spicer (abobve at the National leprechaun Museum) was in Ireland over the weekend, with the former White House Press Secretary appearing on The Late, Late Show
Casual shout-out: While staying in Dublin, he posted brand-tagged content about Marriott and the Shelbourne, where he was staying for the weekend (above)
Befuddlement: This led many to believe he had been given the rooms for free in exchange for promoting them on his social media accounts (Spicer on Late, Late Show above)
A picture posted Friday afternoon on Spicer’s Facebook as well as his Twitter and Instagram accounts shows clear signage for the property under a pitcher of cream and bottle of Jameson.
‘Irish breakfast #jameson #jamesonwhiskey #ireland #dublin #dublinireland,’ wrote Spicer.
Then on Sunday, he uploaded a gallery of photos from the Shelbourne, writing: ‘Thank you to @theshelbourne for an amazing stay in #dublin #ireland amazing hotel and staff #dublinireland cc @marriotthotels.’
This led to social media users calling out Spicer for what appeared to be a free hotel stay.
The layout of Spicer’s two posts was remarkably similar to what other celebrities have posted to secure free stays at similar properties.
A rep for Marriott would neither confirm nor deny that Spicer got a free stay, telling DailyMail.com: ‘This was a private booking and as such we are not in a position to discuss further as we do not disclose guest information.’
Social media users also lashed out at RTE, believing that the semi-state network might have put Spicer up with some of their tax dollars.
Misfunded: Others became angry with RTE, wondering if the semi-state network put him up at the hotel with taxpayer money (Spicer’s post from Sunday above)
Silence: Reps for Marriott and RTE refused to comment, while Spicer’s reps and the Shelbourne did not respond to multiple requests for comment (Shelbourne above)
Dublin dream: Spicer, who has been out of work since August, was once pegged to become ambassador to Ireland and has been unable to land a steady TV gig
‘I’m guessing @RTE & @RTELAteShow paid for your stay in the exorbitantly priced Shelbourne hotel out of the tax payers TV licence fee. Was the travel Lodge booked out?’ wrote one person on Twitter.
Another person added: ‘Compliments of the taxpayers I’m sure.’
A publicist with RTE said: ‘We don’t comment on the arrangements made for individual guests on The Late Late Show.’
Reps for Spicer and the Shelbourne did not respond to a requests for comment.
The posting meanwhile gained little traction, all getting less than 500 likes and just a handful of comments, which were mostly negative.
Spicer is now heading back to the US, where he has failed to land a spot on any of the television networks since he left the White House in August.
There was also talk that Spicer would become ambassador to Ireland, but that did not pan out after he announced he would be stepping down as Press Secretary, which gave way to the 11-day reign of Spicer and his former boss Reince Priebus’ West-Wing foe Anthony Scaramucci.