Hungary has quit Eurovision 2020 because they say it’s “too gay.” Now, they’re denying this is the reason but they’re not offering any other explanation.
The boycott of the conservative government of Hungary will be the first known case of a country not participating in Eurovision due to a social issue.
Gay Eurovision 2020: Did they or didn’t they?
When the Hungarian government was reported by British media outlets as having withdrawn from the competition, they had not given an official excuse.
However, the media quoted unnamed sources with the Hungarian Public Service Media (MTVA) citing the LGBT slant of Eurovision for the pull-out.
What’s more, a Hungarian news outlet also reported unnamed sources in public media claiming that Hungarian officials considered Eurovision as “too gay.”
The Hungarian government denied this. Zoltán Kovács, a spokesperson of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, said on Twitter: “This is shameless muckraking, gossip from your liberal press organs.”
Likewise, MTVA said: “These press statements about one’s sexual orientation violate human dignity, journalism ethics and rule of laws.”
“The professional decision has been made that instead of attending the Eurovision Song Contest in 2020, directly the talents of the Hungarian pop music and their valuable performances will be supported,” MTVA said.
Hungary’s declarations against the LGBT community
Orbán and his conservative government has already made known their stance against the LGBT community.
Orbán himself had stated repeatedly that marriage should only be between men and women.
He had also pushed a “family first” policy to incentivize childbearing in traditional families.
Furthermore, László Kövér, the speaker of the Hungarian parliament, made the comparison of same-sex adoption to pedophilia during a town hall in May.
Meanwhile, András Bencsik, a journalist and TV commentator for pro-government stations, said Eurovision is a “homosexual fleet demonstration.”
Hungary has been participating in the song contest since 2011.
Countries pulling out of Eurovision
Other countries that did withdraw from Eurovision– like Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria and Cyprus– cited budget reasons as their reason.
Earlier, a Russian legislator, Vitaly Milonov, had tried to push the broadcast of Eurovision in Russia, saying that it “propagandizes homosexuality.”
Likewise, when Austrian singer and drag queen Conchita Wurst won the competition, Milonov called for a boycott for Eurovision’s “blatant propaganda of homosexuality and moral degradation.”
The alliance of public service media organizations said: “It is not uncommon for European Broadcasting Union (EBU) members to have breaks in participation in the Eurovision song contest.”
“We hope to welcome their broadcaster MTVA back to the Eurovision song contest family soon,” the group told The Guardian.