Earlier today, the EBU went back on its decision to allow the Maltese entry “Kant” to compete in its original form. The lyrics will have to be changed, to remove the expression “Kant”.
A decision at the request of another EBU member
According to Miriana Conte herself, and to TVM News, the EBU informed the Maltese delegation and artist of the decision taken today. The Eurovision organizers had first accepted the song in full after it had won the Maltese national selection.
According to TVM, objections came through “a report submitted by an EBU member—understood to be the BBC”. Earlier in the season, BBC Radio 2 Host Scott Mills admitted that his guidelines did not allow him to air the song on the airwaves, and it appears the TV branch may have adopted a similar policy and made it formal.
Maltese broadcaster PBS has allegedly two days to respond to the EBU request, with a more general deadline of March 10 to submit its definite entry (a deadline shared by all participating broadcasters).
The drama that surrounds ‘Kant’ is the clever word play of the lyric, “serving Kant”. In the Maltese language the word ‘Kant’ means singing. However, to those that speak English, the pronunciation sounds very similar to a strong word that when combined with ‘serving’, refers to a slang term that originated in drag culture to reclaim the extreme swear word into a positive term of empowerment. To suggest that someone has slayed hard and served a bold, fierce, feminine statement. The phrase is now part of mainstream internet culture.
According to the guidelines of the British broadcasting watchdog Ofcom, the homonymic slur cannot be used in British broadcast media before 9pm (which is an hour into a Eurovision broadcast.
Miriana Conte reacted with disappointment at the announcement, which came as she was recording the videoclip for her song:
What do you think about the EBU’s decision? Do you agree with it, or should more freedom be allowed for Eurovision songs? And how do you feel about the fact that the EBU had first validated it and has now changed its decision? Tell us more in the comments below or on social media, at @escxtra!
Those silly Kants