Lynch quickly gained a reputation as the bad boy of the group due to his body piercings, tattoos and violent outbursts which contrasted with the band's clean-cut image. In 1999, he attended the MTV Europe Music Awards with the band, wearing a FUBU tracksuit which clashed with his colleagues' suits, and announced to the shocked audience "In the press recently, there's been a whole load of fucking shite about Boyzone in the year 2000 about breaking up, we are not breaking up." Later that night, he was involved in a physical brawl with American rapper Puff Daddy. Two years later, at a live concert for Childline, Lynch turned to the camera and yelled: "Tabloid newspapers, you can kiss me fucking arse!"