Germany withdraws ‘homophobic’ Eurovision nomination
Xavier Naidoo will no longer represent Germany in next year’s competition.
The German broadcaster ARD announced this week that R&B star Xavier Naidoo would represent them in Stockholm next May – with a contest to produce the right song for him.
However, the decision did not go down well with some Germans – due to the singer’s history of controversial comments.
The broadcaster has now backtracked on the decision, saying that the public backlash led to a reevaluation of their initial nomination.
Announcing the decision, ARD’s entertainment coordinator, Thomas Schreiber, called Naidoo “an exceptional singer” -and said he was certain the artist “is neither a racist nor homophobic”.
“It was certain that he’d polarise, but we were surprised by the forceful reactions. We misjudged this,” he said in the statement.
Schreiber went on to praise the contest as “a happy event, with music and the understanding among nations at its heart. This character has to be conserved at all costs.”
“The current discussions could seriously harm the ESC. For this reason, Xavier Naidoo will not compete for Germany.”
The singer has previously claimed that “Germany remains an occupied country” and has made controversial statements about War-related conspiracy theories.
He also faced allegations of homophobia in 2012, for an explicit secret track recorded with rapper Kool Savas.
The track, which details taking a violent sadistic revenge on a child abuser, includes the lyrics: “Why don’t you like p***y when every person came out of one?”
Naidoo has disputed these accusations, saying he is neither homophobic nor anti-Semitic and is in no way affiliated to any facist groups.
On his Facebook page he posted a short message saying the recent turn of events “is okay for me.”
“My passion for music and my commitment to love, freedom, tolerance and togetherness will not be slowed down by this.”
