Sunday People mocks Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst: ‘She’s a bloke’
Newspaper the Sunday People has mocked Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst, claiming it is “nonsense” to refer to her as female because “she’s a bloke”.
The Austrian bearded drag artist took home the Eurovision trophy last night, emerging as a clear victor with 290 points.
After her victory was announced, the newspaper posted on Twitter: “This ‘she’ nonsense. ‘Here she is.’ ‘She’s won.’ ‘She’s won people’s hearts.’ She’s a bloke.”
The Sunday People is owned by Trinity Mirror, the UK’s largest publisher, and home to the Daily Mirror and Manchester Evening News.
After outrage from fans of the drag queen, they removed the tweet, and said they were “genuinely sorry” for the outburst.
We’re genuinely sorry if the tweet took the shine off what was a spectacular, landmark Eurovision victory by Conchita.
— The Sunday People (@thesundaypeople) May 10, 2014
We’d like to apologise for our earlier, misjudged tweet by @couchpotatoadam, which caused offence to many Conchita Wurst fans. — The Sunday People (@thesundaypeople) May 10, 2014
Wurst’s performance and win have been controversial in Eastern Europe, with petitions in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus calling for her to be disqualified, or edited out of the broadcast in their country.
Russian MP Vitaly Milonov had also called for the country to boycott the contest over Wurst’s seleciton, labelling it the ‘Eurovision sodom show’.
He had said: “Even just broadcasting the competition in Russia could insult millions of Russians.
“The participation of the obvious transvestite and hermaphrodite Conchita Wurst on the same stage as Russian singers on live television is blatant propaganda of homosexuality and spiritual decay.”
Russian entrants the Tolmachevy Sisters were loudly and repeatedly booed by the Copenhagen crowd, and managed to scrape just 89 points.
