Israel: Hovi Star gets bullied at the Moscow Airport

by Michalis Vranis 3,246 views

It was Barei, the Spanish representative who revealed that Hovi Star, the Israeli participant in the Eurovision Song Contest was bullied by airport police guards in Moscow. Last night, the Israeli singer cleared up the story.

During his last visit in Malta, Hovi Star shared his experience live on the Maltese TV show, Xarabank. The journalist asked the singer about the incident and Hovi Star didn’t hesitate to shed light to it.

Hovi Star, was invited at the Russian Eurovision Preparty along with other guests and current Eurovision participants, among them it was Barei who represents Spain this year.

Upon his arrival in Moscow, Hovi Star had to go through the security check at the airport and, according to his revelations, the border guards humiliated him by making jokes about his physical appearance and to top that, they ripped his passport apart.

In Moscow, people have a rough time with people like me, maybe because I’m gay, maybe because I dress like this, maybe because I wear makeup – I don’t know. But when I wanted to get into Moscow, I had problems with the passport control and they told me I can’t go in. They looked at my passport – they ripped my passport – and then they laughed at me.

For Hovi Star, this was a rather negative surprise since he wasn’t expecting such treatment when it comes to a Eurovision event; but he was proven wrong.

Regarding his feelings about this year’s Russian representative Sergey Lazrev, Hovi Star made clear that he likes his song and has no hard feelings for him.

It’s amazing that this happened in the Eurovision bubble. My song, Made of Stars, it talks about equality. It talks about how everyone is the same, everybody was born the same, everybody will die the same. And I always say, give love – it’s free. There’s no need for hate, there’s no need for negativity. And I choose to really take it as a lesson.

Barei: If I were Gay, I wouldn’t vote for Russia

Barei, on a long interview at the Spanish Newspaper La Vanguardia, was the first person to reveal the incident with Hovi Star at the Moscow airport, adding the issues that Gay people are facing there. At this interview, she pointed out that if she was gay and had to vote in Eurovision, she wouldn’t vote for Russia because of the country’s intolerance to this sexual identity and expression.

No matter what, this incident must for sure be condemned and more light has to be shed upon.