After much back and forth about the exclusion of the Netherlands from the final of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest, the Dutch broadcaster Avrotros took a concrete position for the first time on the allegations against its candidate Joost Klein this evening. Accordingly, the incriminated “incident” was not physical violence, but merely a gesture into the camera, according to a statement.
Accordingly, the singer was filmed by a camerawoman against his will as he left the stage at the Malmö Arena. She did not respond to his request. “This led to Joost making a threatening movement towards the camera. Joost did not touch the camerawoman,” the broadcaster said in its broadcast.
Various solution options that were suggested to the Broadcasting Union (EBU) were not taken up. The EBU only wanted disqualification. “Avrotros finds the measure very serious and disproportionate,” they make clear: “What Joost gave to the Netherlands and Europe should not have ended like this.” However, the camerawoman concerned refused any contact.
Police investigation completed
The police investigation into the incident has now been completed, which is why the ball is now in the court of the Swedish public prosecutor, who must decide whether to prosecute Joost Klein. But that could still take weeks.
“While the investigation is ongoing, it would be inappropriate for him to remain in the competition,” the EBU had previously justified its action against the artist: “We remain true to our zero-tolerance policy against inappropriate behavior at our event. We are committed to this “To provide a safe working environment for all employees at the contest. From this point of view, Joost Klein’s behavior towards one of our team members can clearly be seen as a violation of the rules of the contest.”
