Martina Aitolehti and Esko Eerikäinen were rudely passed by at the gala, claims Nelonen’s pr&press producer Miia Paavonen.
Martina and Esko posed for the cameras together. Atte Kajova
Well-being influencer Martina Aitolehti and Esko Eerikäinen arrived together at the Emma gala organized on February 17. The ex-couple, along with other celebrities, made their way to the red carpet of the gala to tell the media what they were up to and pose for the cameras.
Again, a large number of public figures were invited to the gala, and they had to queue on the red carpet to be photographed. The queue time stretched up to 45 minutes during the evening, but the stars waited patiently for their turn.
However, Martina and Esko did not melt the waiting time.
In the episode of the Omg podcast published on February 21, Nelonen’s pr&press producer Miia Paavonen reveals that Martina and Esko brazenly wedged the entire queue at the gala.
Martina and Esko walking on the red carpet laughing just after passing the other queuers. Atte Kajova
Presentation and explanations
Paavonen was overseeing the red carpet and told the two that it can’t work like this.
– They came decisively past the whole queue and pushed themselves past the whole long queue. I told them decisively, even raising my voice a little, that there is a queue here, everyone has been queuing for a long time and there are also candidates in the queue, says Paavonen.
– Martina Aitolehti’s tactic was to pretend that I don’t exist. He pretended not to hear or see anything. He just moved on, Paavonen continues.
Eerikäinen tried to explain to Paavonen that they have an arranged meeting related to the gala, which they have to make it to. Paavonen asked the couple who they had arranged to meet with, but Eerikäinen refused to say this.
– They had nothing agreed upon. They just didn’t want to wait in line, Paavonen said and added that he clarified the matter even later.
Paavonen went to stand in front of the duo and still tried to tell them firmly that you can’t pass other people. Aitolehti continued its presentation, Eerikäinen appealed that they must act like this.
– Then they fell together on the red carpet, past everyone in line, even the nominees for the gala, sighs Paavonen.
Conflicting instructions
Eerikäinen tells Ilta-Sanom that he disagrees with the events of the gala evening. According to the presenter, their entourage received conflicting instructions about where they should go on the red carpet. According to him, there was no queue of any kind.
– We were directed to three different places and then at the last we were told that now we have to stand here and you are not allowed to move. As if we were animals in a pen, Eerikäinen tells the magazine.
The presenter remembers that one of the employees of the gala guided him and Aitolehti towards the red carpet. However, according to him, they were not asked to move back to the queue.
– Someone said that we can’t go on like this now. I said sorry that we were told that we had to go this way and then we went that way, Eerikäinen recalls.
He even feels that this year, the communication from the organizers was sometimes boring. He doesn’t think it’s okay that they were yelled at at an event where they have come as guests to have fun.
– It’s nice that we were picked up because we weren’t the only ones who went from the same place. Sorry if anyone was offended by that. We have such a way that the forest responds when you call out to it, he states.
Eerikäinen did not agree to comment further on the matter to Iltalehti. Iltalehti also unsuccessfully tried to reach Aitolehti to comment on the matter.
Martina and Esko became famous for their own reality show Martina and Esko. The couple later broke up, but have remained friends and have a daughter together.
Article edited on February 21, 2024 at 3:43 p.m. Eerikäinen’s comments to IS added to the article.