Romanian Television (TVR) defends the controversial song “Choke Me”, which represents Romania at Eurovision, rejecting accusations that the song trivializes a dangerous sexual practice.
The title of the play by the Romanian artist Alexandra Căpitănescu is meant to be a metaphor, TVR declared on Wednesday for the German press agency DPA, Agerpres cites. The television emphasizes that it is dedicated to artistic freedom, the values of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the spirit of the Eurovision music contest, which promotes “diversity, inclusion, dialogue between cultures and authentic expression through music”.
TVR stated that the meaning of the piece will be publicly explained by the artist herself “during the staging of the show” in Vienna.
“The artistic concept of the stage performance is designed specifically to highlight the metaphorical nature of the message and to exclude any literal interpretation of the lyrics,” TVR wrote.
The EBU has not yet commented on this subject.
The song “Choke Me” has attracted a lot of criticism, including from the UK, which is introducing a law to ban the possession and publication of pornographic material that depicts strangulation or suffocation.
The lyrics include phrases such as: “Love me, make my lungs explode” and “Born for you to control me, I want you to suffocate me” or “All I need is your love, I want you to suffocate me”.
Căpitănescu stated in early March that the lyrics should not be interpreted literally, arguing that art should not be subject to censorship as long as no one gets hurt.
The song is far from being the first Eurovision entry to cause controversy, recalls the German agency DPA. Last year, the BBC lodged a complaint about the Maltese song 'Kant', the Maltese word for song sounding similar to an English slang for female genitalia.
Eurovision fans demanded the disqualification of the song or the modification of the lyrics
Criticism of the song that our country is competing with has also spread online, where many Eurovision fans have asked for the song to be disqualified or the lyrics to be changed.
In the past, the contest organizers intervened in similar situations. For example, recalls the British newspaper The Guardian, the EBU in other years requested the removal of words such as “shit” or “pussy” from the lyrics.
According to The Guardian, the BBC did not file a complaint regarding Romania's song this year, and the video of the song is available on the EBU website.
In defense of the song, Alexandra Căpitănescu said that the images in the lyrics are metaphors for the feeling of being overwhelmed by strong emotions and self-doubt.
