Irish Eurovision contestant cries after Israel makes finals of song contest

Irish Eurovision contestant Bambie Thug reportedly cried after learning Israel had made the finals of the song contest.

Thug, who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, made the admission in a backstage interview in Malmo, Sweden on Friday night, per The Independent.

A snippet of the interview was shared to X, showing Thug wearing a keffiyeh scarf and fighting back tears.

“I cried with my team,” they state before dramatically taking a deep breath.

The inclusion of Israel’s contestant, 20-year-old Eden Golan, has been slammed by thousands of pro-Palestinian protestors amid the country’s ongoing war in Gaza.

Audiences were heard booing as Golan performed at a dress rehearsal on Wednesday.

On X, Thug was slammed for claiming they cried about Israel’s advancement to the finals, with one describing it as “performative nonsense.”

“These people cried more (literally) when an Israeli singer won than when 1000 Israelis were brutally murdered or raped [on Oct.7],” another raged. “These people are evil. Not misinformed. That ship has sailed. They are EVIL.”

On Thursday, thousands of anti-Israel demonstrators filled the streets of Malmo to protest the country’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest,

Up to 12,000 people — including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg — converged in Malmo’s historic Stortorget square near the city’s town hall before marching toward the Eurovision venue.

The protesters waved Palestinian flags; wore keffiyeh scarves; deployed green, black and red smoke bombs to match the flag’s colors; and repeated the chants, “From river to sea, Palestine will be free” and “Israel is a terror state” as police officers watched from rooftops, the streets and even helicopters.

Eurovision organizers rejected calls to expel Israel from the competition — arguing they try to keep the competition nonpolitical.

In another effort to be nonpolitical, the organizers had barred Israel’s initial song submission for breaking its rules on political neutrality. The song was originally titled “October Rain” in reference to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that killed 1,200 Israelis and prompted Israel’s attack on Gaza.

But Israel’s President Isaac Herzog called on the songwriter to make changes so that the Jewish nation could compete, according to the BBC. The ballad is now called “Hurricane.”

The Eurovision finals will take place on Saturday night. Anti-Israel protestors are again expected to take to the streets of Malmo as the signing competition takes place.

Both Israel and Ireland are among the 16 nations still in the running for the crown.