Damiano David, the outlandish vocalist for Italian rockers Måneskin, has agreed to take a drug test after video footage appeared to show him snorting something from a table backstage during Saturday’s contest.
Did someone just do a line live on #Eurovision telly !!? pic.twitter.com/d0gLkIbsZp
— Glen Scott QBE (@glenrules) May 22, 2021
“I think there needs to be no doubt here, and total transparency,” Europe Minister Clement Beaune, who attended the show in Rotterdam, told RMC radio. “If there is a problem, there are penalties… Provisions are made for sanctioning measures, including potential disqualification in case of problems.”
French hopes had been riding high on singer Barbara Pravi, who was a bookmakers’ favourite to end France’s 44-year Eurovision drought with her
moody ballad “Voila.”
But she was edged out at the last minute by a surge in public votes for Måneskin, with a final tally of 524 to Pravi’s 499.
“I don’t want to be a sore loser,” Beaune said, but “in terms of image, we can’t let people think that such competitions can result in such behaviour.”
The president of France’s public broadcasting group, however, said Monday that France would not contest its second-place finish, no matter the speculation over David’s backstage antics.
“France has absolutely no intention to lodge an appeal,” France Televisions chief Delphine Ernotte told the Parisien newspaper. “The vote was quite clearly in Italy’s favour — it didn’t steal its
victory and that’s what matters,” she said.
Pravi herself said she was not interested in the speculation.
“What’s true is that they were chosen by both the public and the jury. Afterwards, if they use drugs or they put their underwear on backwards or whatever… it’s not my problem,” she told France 2 television on Sunday.
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“I don’t want to be a sore loser,” Beaune said, but I am.
Indeed. My thoughts as well.
Total respect for Barbara Pravi. Class act.
Great performance, she even sang live. Remember that? But the british ‘singer’ was a revelation. He had a whole musical scale of his own. To sing a whole song without a single recognisable chromatic note was a tremendous achievement.
Not a musician but if you mean the British entry was rubbish, I completely agree.
Surprising that anybody’s even interested, this contest is a real low point for music. Having said that, to finish with zero points you really have to apply yourself to being bad !