Drama coming from Montenegro today. RTCG have published a statement in which they reveal that there was a call to withdraw Vanja Radovanović from the semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest last night.

Clumsy and unacceptable

Montenegro’s broadcaster reveals that the comments made by their entrant at a press conference were clumsy and unacceptable. They feel his comments do not fit in with the message RTCG want to carry out in the Eurovision Song Contest.

At the press conference, Vanja was asked to make a joke. He then came up with a joke Ricky Gervais once made about children with disabilities. The host of the press conference intervened soon after the comment.

Milan Radović, one of the members of the RTCG board, was the one to discuss the suggestion at the board meeting. He then said the following:

I suggest, due to the unacceptable comments on the account of the disabled children we as the management of RTCG without any prolonging pull out Mr. Radovanovic out of the competition.

Six of the remaining eight board members supported the motion Mr. Radović made. Among those six were the President and Vice-President of RTCG.

Explanation needed

In the same motion, one of the other board members also asked Vanja Radovanović to explain the reasons behind the joke. He said he knew Vanja as an educated and politically correct individual, who would normally not behave like this. The president of RTCG, Ivan Jovetić, said there should never be any doubt over the broadcaster’s desire to protect the vulnerable groups of society. He calls for a discussion over the subject.

In the end, Vanja Radovanović took part in the second semifinal last night, despite the motion at the RTCG headquarters. Sadly for Vanja, he failed to make the final of the contest with his song “Inje”.

What do you think about the developments at RTCG? Let us know!