Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS release statement on Joost Klein incident.
Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS, who are the competing broadcaster for The Netherlands in Eurovision have released a statement in regards to the incident surrounding Joost Klein.
“An incident occured after last Thursday’s performance. Against clearly made agreements, Joost was filmed when he had just gotten of stage and had to rush to the greenroom. At that moment, Joost repeatedly indicated that he did not want to be filmed. This wasn’t respected. This led to a threatening movement from Joost towards the camera. Joost did not touch the camera woman. This incident was reported, followed by an investigation by the EBU and police.
Yesterday and today we consulted extensively with the EBU and proposed several solutions. Nevertheless, the EBU has still decided to disqualify Joost Klein. AVROTROS finds the penalty very heavy and disproportionate. We stand for good manners – let there be no misunderstanding about that – but in our view, an exclusion order is not proportional to this incident.
We are very disappointed and upset for the millions of fans who were excited for tonight. What Joost brought to The Netherlands and Europe shouldn’t have ended this way.”
As previously confirmed, Joost Klein will not be performing in the grand final of Eurovision 2024, and the final line-up will include 25 countries now instead of 26. However, their running order numbers will remain the same for voting.
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