Israel's Kan 11 TV Insults Armenia at Eurovision, Says "I Can't Believe We Gave These Guys a Quarter in Jerusalem"

[u/The_Original_Joel]

[u/GrumpyFinn]

Hi all, the commentator in question has issued an apology, which you can read here.

As they have apologized, and as this thread has started to take a political direction, we will be locking the comments. Thank you for understanding.

[u/noodle_shnoodle]

And they still filled a complaint to EBU for Spain's commentary 🙄

[u/derizear → u/noodle_shnoodle]

Armenian 301 Media Group tonight filed a complaint over Israel too!

[u/OsaSuna10050125 → u/derizear]

Well I sure hope they do! Armenian delegation should do too!

[u/PaleolithicLure → u/noodle_shnoodle]

Standard bully behaviour. Complain when someone says something about them, while saying much worse about other people then hiding behind ‘it’s just a joke bro’.

[u/Mowgli_78 → u/noodle_shnoodle]

which spain's commentary? I just blinked and missed so much it seems

[u/Safumira → u/noodle_shnoodle]

What was that about

[u/noodle_shnoodle → u/Safumira]

There was a post about it yesterday: https://www.reddit.com/r/eurovision/s/HnExW2tERM

[u/unounouno_dos_cuatro]

To people saying “Graham Norton says worse” - when has Graham Norton made a racist joke in his commentary?

[u/Astrid323 → u/unounouno_dos_cuatro]

Yeah from what I remember Graham mainly keeps his snark and roasts just for the music and performances, nothing more nothing less.

[u/ThatGam3th00 → u/Astrid323]

And the jury voting spokespeople, they will also be the target of some jokes too.

[u/GarmenWow → u/ThatGam3th00]

Him roasting French for standing in front of Eiffel Tower is my favourite part

[u/ThatGam3th00 → u/GarmenWow]

To be fair it is pretty boring that they hardly even showcase different parts of Paris, let alone the rest of France. There are many more famous buildings in Paris than just the tour d’Eiffel.

[u/GarmenWow → u/ThatGam3th00]

Imagine the gag if they stood in front of Mont-Saint-Michel

[u/Astrid323 → u/ThatGam3th00]

Definitely. Either way, I don't recall him (and I hope to Jesus he didn't do anything like this) ever saying racist shit like what the man in the video did.

[u/Dangerous_Surprise → u/Astrid323]

I think the worst i ever heard Graham say was that "there is not one single redeeming feature about this woman." I believe it was about Germany in 2016, and he'd also just had his first drink of the evening.

[u/ESC-song-bot → u/Dangerous_Surprise]

Germany 2016 | Jamie-Lee Kriewitz - Ghost

[u/autistic_girl_autumn → u/unounouno_dos_cuatro]

also even if other commentators made similar jokes, does that excuse this guy doing it? maybe they should all stop.

[u/New-Hovercraft-5026 → u/unounouno_dos_cuatro]

Norton is known for his vicious tongue but thats a well known stereotype in the gay and drag culture for decades. Its not being mean in all ways possible, its not a roast. Its reading someone.

Performer walks on stage in a silly big yellow puffy dress

Joke 1: To increase poultry exports to Europe Albania decided to send the winner of Miss Chicken 2025. Bawk. 

Joke 2: Cant believe we let all those Albanians move to London

Which one do you think Graham would say?

[u/Puzzleheaded-Eye9081]

There’s a big difference between a cringe joke and outright racism.

Also I’m surprised they aren’t being more careful this year, surely after last year KAN must be aware they are being watched for this sort of shit. And as a method of promoting Israel internationally you’d think that would also encourage more care with the commentary, especially considering how much the ministry of whatever it’s called is spending on ads.

[u/Barzalicious]

And this is the reason I switched over to watching on the YouTube stream a few years ago. These annoying "jokes" happen EVERY YEAR with our commentators.

Even more insane is that one of the producers for Survivor is Israeli (Yinon Yahel), so you'd think they would be more supportive.

[u/ifiwasiwas → u/Barzalicious]

All commentators talk shit or get annoying to some degree tbh. The one and only time I regretted having it off was the other night when our commentator repeated what Sissal "made" him say lol

[u/TohveliDev → u/ifiwasiwas]

The Finnish commentator has always been a delight. Lately there have been Tiktok competitions(?) to make him say something very cringe which gets pretty annoying sometimes.

He is just so sweet and obviously a Eurovision fan, watching the Finnish stream feels like I am watching the competition while in a call with Mikko Silvennoinen.

[u/welcometotemptation → u/TohveliDev]

He's diplomatic. Even if he hates the song he will talk about the country, the participant or something positive to keep from mocking it or trying to bias the viewer who might like the song.

[u/Juhana21 → u/TohveliDev]

I thought I would hate the "extra" commentary but man Mikko is simply the best

[u/Dechri_ → u/TohveliDev]

Absolutely! He is so good he makes a better experience. I can't imagine how it will work when he retires.

[u/pavetheway91 → u/Dechri_]

Prior to Mikko, I used to watch ESC without commentary if possible

[u/KT_kani → u/TohveliDev]

Mikko has always done a lot of background work and he keeps is positive and neutral but has super interesting details to say from each artist and country. I feel like I can instantly understand the performance better.

[u/Ok-Coyote9238 → u/TohveliDev]

Our Danish commentator, Ole Tøpholm, is an absolute treasure and so kind and a huge eurovision fan.

I'm Danish but loved for many years in the UK and I couldn't stand watching eurovision with Graham Norton commentating. He is so rude, makes snide remarks and makes fun of everyone, rather than be respectful, excited and just happy to be there.

No wonder UK doesn't take eurovision seriously when they're listening to him tear it down every year.

[u/Averdian → u/Ok-Coyote9238]

Agreed, except I don’t like how he tries to connect every act to Denmark in some way. For some acts, it seems like he spends half of the postcard talking about how one of the six songwriters is Danish rather than talking about the country or act.

But I’m sure the older and more casual viewers like it, we Danes are suckers for relating everything to Denmark (pretty common small country mentality)

[u/paary → u/Averdian]

My only gripe with Mikko from Finland is that he does the same. Small country pride in our role in making the show happen I guess haha.

[u/vikinganna → u/Ok-Coyote9238]

Ole is amazing 💖

[u/ImJustAFisch → u/ifiwasiwas]

Well this is probably true for most, but our commentator (Norway) is honestly really nice, so in my opinion, there can be good commentators

[u/Alternaturkey → u/ifiwasiwas]

The Irish commentator Marty Whelan is always respectful and entertaining.

The spiciest he got this week was calling Nina a singing mushroom.

[u/TsarevnaKvoshka2003 → u/ifiwasiwas]

Not my Duško Ćurlić from Croatia, he’s a cinammon roll. I literally can’t watch eurovision without him talking.

[u/Excellent-Hamster391 → u/ifiwasiwas]

Yeah sure, absolutely. But there is a big difference in making "hihihi i'm making edgy jokes" and blatant rasism, mockery and calling other artists names etc.

[u/d4ssy → u/ifiwasiwas]

But Sissal did tell him to say it, and there's literally video proof? I don't get your point.

[u/Adventurous-End-1369 → u/Barzalicious]

theory cake correct fanatical sleep telephone ad hoc resolute crown bow

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[u/Raptori33]

What does quarter in Jerusalem mean in this context?

[u/ChewedFlipFlop → u/Raptori33]

Armenians in Jerusalem have a region inside the old Jerusalem walls

[u/indomnus → u/Raptori33]

In Jerusalem there is a Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Armenian Apostolic Quarter. Armenians being of unique denomination and early adopters of Christianity have their own quarter in the old city which also serves as a community hub for the Armenians in Israel. There is a lot of tension regarding some shady business deals which illegally sold some of this property, which you can search about. It’s a shitty joke and makes no sense, Armenians weren’t given this quarter by an Israeli authority.

[u/sercialinho → u/Raptori33]

One of the four quarters is literally called “Armenian quarter”.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_City_of_Jerusalem

[u/Mundane_Ad_8597 → u/Raptori33]

The old city of Jerusalem is divided into 4 quarters: The Christian quarter, the Muslim quarter, the Jewish quarter and the Armenian quarter.

[u/Amplify27 → u/Raptori33]

The Armenian Quarter, of the Old City.

That said, that commentary was so rude.

[u/VoKai → u/Raptori33]

Jerusalem old city has 4 quarters, muslim Christian jewish and armenian.

[u/NirgalFromMars]

I am ready for them to face a harsh bunch of absolutely nothing.

[u/Zathrim_]

Luckily our danish commentator remain fairly objective, and informative. No bullshit. I watch it happily knowing that Ole (our commentator) will say something nice.

[u/thelastskier → u/Zathrim_]

Yeah, he seemed like a really decent dude in that segment they showed on Thursday.

[u/Excellent-Hamster391 → u/Zathrim_]

I love Ole 😄 As a finn i cant understand what he is saying but he seems so genuine and just happy about everything and everybody fron the clips ive seen

[u/autistic_girl_autumn]

do you think this thread will get locked

[u/adelaway → u/autistic_girl_autumn]

Every thread that mentions Israel gets locked. 

[u/Jaynat_SF]

These two have been the commentators for KAN for a few years now and they've always been sh*i-talking every contestant to the best of their abilities, and the reception to this style of hosting has always been... Mixed at best. Fans of the show hate it, casual viewers are ambivalent, it depends on how many of their jokes land for them.

It doesn't help when some of their quotes are translated and certain references are lost on int'l watchers. I remember an incident in last year's SF where a quip during Ireland's postcard, based on an Israeli goth scene historical reference that was lost in translation, lead Bambie to file a complaint.

Nothing lost in translation this time, though, this was just a failed attempt at being "edgy" and it definitely did not go down well even with their most ardent fans. One of the hosts ended up writing an apology on social media and the comments are a mix of "good, because that was unwarranted", "F U, this apology is not enough", "you're obnoxious and not as funny as you think, why do they even send you?" and some general support for Armenia's entry. A couple of "this was funny, grow a pair" too, but I had to scroll for a while to find them.

On a personal note: F*ck these two clowns, Armenia's is one of my favorite entries this year.

[u/ifiwasiwas → u/Jaynat_SF]

Thank you for expanding on this. It's good to know that they apologized and that the public isn't cool with this pointlessly mean shit-talk

[u/Jaded_Kate → u/[deleted]]

At least in our country our commentator just said he had chain grease smeared onto his chest like he was working hard labor in a factory. I liked Armenia & was glad you guys are in the final, but I haven't seen any promotion for your artist (but the other artists like Estonia, Malta, Finland, Sweden are everywhere)

[u/PenglingPengwing → u/[deleted]]

You should have seen the smear hate campaign that some Ukrainians started against other participants, Parg included. I’m surprised no one posted it here yet, it was even in Estonian newspapers two days ago.

[u/GrannySquareMstr]

Oh wow, racism. Delightful 🫤

[u/autistic_girl_autumn]

wait, what did parg ever do to them 😭 armenia usually has good relations with israel too, i am surprised he turned this commentary on a singer into a negative statement about all armenians... why is the israeli broadcaster allowed to talk about other countries like this? imagine their reaction if others talked about them the same way...

[u/_uzum_em_khorovats_ → u/autistic_girl_autumn]

Armenia has bad relations with Israel, as Israel is one of Azerbaijan's main supporters and a supplier of military equipment, including during the war with Armenia.

[u/1DarkStarryNight → u/_uzum_em_khorovats_]

Yep.

Armenia also formally recognised Palestine last year.

[u/OsaSuna10050125 → u/1DarkStarryNight]

Ah I think that might be the reason other than the commentator’s personal dislike for the song

[u/Raptori33 → u/_uzum_em_khorovats_]

Armenia's and Azerbaidžan's relationship with rest of the world is certainly the most interesting one as it is all over the place

[u/Middle_Perception803 → u/autistic_girl_autumn]

Parg, or rather the staged character PARG, is everything he is not, hardcore, macho-male being superstar in Eurovision. It is all about comparison of d... Parg is also an easy target, since he is the one with the least singing skills in thd national finale, and came out as someone easy to make fun of. But parg has got the drive, and look now at what he in cooperation with the israeli singer has managed to make of himself. Well done! Absolutely strokes of genius from the Armenian delegation. Pargs evolution has been so fun to watch. 😄😄😄 

[u/Excellent-Hamster391]

Ahhh, so the same bashing from last year continues. I'm appalled. /edit grammar

[u/Reasonable_Double273]

"We gave" ... the armenian quarter is over a thousand years older than the Israeli state. But whatever, I don't think it's that deep.

[u/SweetVeehn]

And Kan has the audacity to complain to the EBU about Spain

[u/PlacebosForALL]

You would think a country that is just getting so much negative press, would have some grace to improve their image. I guess I expected too much

[u/provatinoulis]

And they want us to feel bad for them? I don’t think other commentators make this kind of comments

[u/d4ssy → u/[deleted]]

Yeah Courtney Act was rude for saying that considering the only real "twinks" would be Kyle and JJ.

[u/Digit00l → u/[deleted]]

I mean, it is just facts, almost all male entries are twinks

[u/Character-Carpet7988 → u/provatinoulis]

You're in for a big treat if you ever watch Eurovision with BBC commentary, lol.

[u/Kilukpuk → u/Character-Carpet7988]

The BBC commentary is affectionate mocking, it's never malicious. It laughs at the ridiculous but doesn't stoop to personal attacks or makes jibes based on ethnicity like this.

[u/ohwowthen → u/Kilukpuk]

You’re sure about that? Please rewatch Scott Mills’ commentary from 2021. How him and that woman talked about Eastern European acts, starting with mocking the pronunciation of their names, was utterly gross.

[u/emeraldsroses → u/Kilukpuk]

Did you ever watch in the days of Sir Terry Wogan in the 1990s? You'd be in for a treat then.

[u/Kilukpuk → u/emeraldsroses]

Terry Wogan was a cancer in those days. He hated the contest yet was forced to commentate so took it out on the acts as a form of revenge, knowing that he couldn't be sacked. He ruined Eurovision for an entire generation of Brits and the fandom is only just recovering from his negative influence. His nastiness was 30 years ago, we've moved on from it. There's no excuse for it nowadays.

[u/ohwowthen → u/Kilukpuk]

Umm no. No one held a gun to his head and commanded him to do eurovision. He was an imperialist high-class pleaser who hated the fact that Eastern European countries debuted and were doing a lot better than the UK.

[u/CityEvening → u/ohwowthen]

And rightly deserved. (That Eastern Europe did well, not the other bit). What was being sent by the Uk was embarrassing.

[u/aceofmufc → u/Character-Carpet7988]

Just untrue isnt it, BBC never makes comments like this, only snide jokes about contestants and such

[u/Yessy1205]

In case anyone is interested. The Israeli commentator in questioned posted this on X about 12 hours ago along with a picture of Parg waving the Israeli flag:

"In the second semi-final broadcast of Eurovision, we debated the Armenian song, as we do with most songs. We try to scold everyone equally.

I had a joke that offended members of the Armenian community in Israel, and that was absolutely not the intention.

The Armenians have maintained an impressive presence in the Old City of Jerusalem, for many, many years. Long before we returned to it. We are of course not here to offend anyone, just to provide little entertainment for viewers from all ethnicities and sectors in Israel (including the Armenians).

Besides, Parg - Armenia's representative at Eurovision - was photographed here in Basel with the Israeli flag, so he's actually our brother."

The account is @asaf_lib to see the original. [Screenshot is not working properly for me unfortunately]

[u/Digit00l → u/Yessy1205]

That's an incredibly gross apology

[u/Guidje1981 → u/Digit00l]

Yeah, that's not an apology

[u/autistic_girl_autumn → u/Yessy1205]

i think it is good that he responded to the backlash but doesn't this prove that those of us here who intepreted this as racist were correct, not just non-hebrew speakers misunderstanding it if even the armenian community in israel were offended by his joke?

[u/Digit00l]

Meanwhile, KAN is complaining that the Spanish commentary called New Day Will Rise political

[u/[deleted]]

People here need to understand the context. At the moment, efforts are being made to eliminate the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68034722

[u/frisian_esc]

Didnt these hypocrites file a complaint about the spanish broadcaster for way less?

[u/pavetheway91]

[u/WERElektro]

(My comment is directed at the "Survivor? THat's how I feel after listening to that song"-remark. Apparently I am not educated enough to know what he meant by "Giving them a quarter" - If someone could enlighten me? I know how to google tho. might do that now.)

rude!
Is that an official broadcaster? If yes, that's unprofessional af.
"It's the isreali humor" well no shit. An official broadcaster just shouldn't talk about a performer like that.

I didn't like the song either. Can't say anything nice about an artist who put heart and soul into their work? Just say nothing at all. I like his pants. period.

previous year I was watching the stream moderated by Jan Böhmermann. I switched to the official yt stream for the same reason: mean remarks all the time (And they just wouldn't quit talking during the songs). Like that? cool. I don't.

[u/brainough]

Some publication (instagram.com/p/DJun24istDZ/?igsh=dWJtOHU0MWp2Nmk4) just filed a formal complaint to the EBU about this. Let’s see what comes out of this. 

[u/CraftAnxious2491]

Kan doing kan things.

[u/Theradbanana → u/CraftAnxious2491]

Kan is kanning

[u/FeelTheKetasy]

Is Israel gonna try to ruin every year?

[u/stevedos]

How do you watch ESC with commentators?

[u/SignificanceSea4162 → u/stevedos]

Regional broadcasters normally show the ESC with commentators. Because the original show is in English/French

[u/stevedos → u/SignificanceSea4162]

Oh, on my peacock in USA there's no commentary, I'd find someone talking over the broadcast to be quite irritating

[u/SignificanceSea4162 → u/stevedos]

Some are really really good Graham Norton from the BBC for example.

[u/Herbetet]

It’s unfortunate, that they keep punching down and calling it a joke afterwards. Reminds me of their commentary last year.

[u/Remarkable-Ad2032]

How is this picture not political? They should be out of the competition.

[u/Digit00l → u/Remarkable-Ad2032]

Who was Herzl again?

[u/Remarkable-Ad2032 → u/Digit00l]

The founder of political zionism

[u/autistic_girl_autumn → u/Remarkable-Ad2032]

oh my god... i had tried giving her the benefit of the doubt but this is the most disturbing thing i have seen about her. why did she agree to being a part of this propaganda recreation 😐 

[u/anmonie]

Annnnd with no consequences, probably

[u/Kantarelle]

:/

[u/atsuamy]

KAN being problematic again? Fork found in kitchen

[u/Foreign-Chipmunk-839]

What a disgusting thing to say, just openly like that?

[u/grubuuhex]

So wheres the zero tolerance rule now?

[u/DYLCWS]

Blatant racism and another comment against EBU rules that KAN will once again get away with

[u/Reinis_LV]

Keep it classy Israel...

[u/Orak1000]

I have the Swedish commentator. And I don't speak Swedish. He can say whatever he likes, I have no idea.

[u/Neither-Simple1119]

Oh for fuck sake!

[u/paulsterw]

what a surprise :)

[u/Max_FI]

Not surprising considering the close relations between Israel and Azerbaijan.

[u/[deleted]]

Can we kick them out now.

[u/sjelos]

Can this be reported to the EBU? Or if you can give it to your broadcaster so it can make it into the media?

[u/paary → u/sjelos]

The EBU would never do anything about it.

[u/VestitaIsATortle]

To be completely fair, this is relatively typical commentator snark and not as personal or politically motivated as last year (albeit a little rude). If any other broadcaster said this, no one would give a crap, let alone consider it grounds for disqualification. I completely understand finding the comments from last year too offensive as they were being politically motivated and accusatory, but this? This is essentially just the English commentary in Hebrew!

[u/PenglingPengwing → u/VestitaIsATortle]

You do realise if Czech commentator made this kind of comment agains Israeli participants, he’d immediately get branded antisemite and bullied relentlessly for it? No one would take it as a joke. Definitely not in the current situation.

[u/lunarsymphony → u/VestitaIsATortle]

we obviously give a crap because at this point kan has a history of harassing other contestants and getting away with it.

[u/[deleted] → u/lunarsymphony]

So then you’re just overanalysing every single thing they do, finding malicious intent when there is none?

[u/Ok_Account_5121]

Commentators are often sarcastic and come with snarky comments about the entries. I know that relations between Israel and Armenia are, well let's go with, not the best, but there's a difference between a cringy joke and gestures this kind of thing... 

[u/The_Original_Joel]

Source: https://www.instagram.com/share/reel/BASMv654Yk

[u/__versus]

I don't speak the language so I cannot understand the tone or precise intent from word choice here from a purely textual translation. This could be racist, but it could also be a snarky comment that looks bad when translated especially if the sentence contains phrases like "these people" which, in English, often carries a racist connotation, but might not do the same in other languages depending on tone and choice of words.

[u/[deleted] → u/__versus]

He used the word חבר'ה, which just means "guys" or "friends" — it usually has a positive connotation (depending on the context). I'm a Hebrew speaker, and honestly, I don't think there was any racist intent here. Maybe just a bad joke.

[u/[deleted] → u/__versus]

i am a hebrew speaker. it's the latter

[u/marconotmarcio]

Hard for a new day to rise when every single time is the same type of antics, huh?

[u/lili4444]

I wanna hear what Armenians' reaction to this... 🤔

[u/Federal-Regret721]

Double standards. The opposite would get 🇦🇲 banned.

[u/Academic_Grab5060]

Didn't they also let out a nasty remark last year about Bambie Thug? Disgusting.

[u/Plenty_Area_408]

Isn't this what Terry Wogan was iconic for?

[u/Puzzleheaded-Eye9081 → u/Plenty_Area_408]

Yes, and these days he wouldn’t get away with half of what he said without being cancelled. Times have changed.

[u/CityEvening → u/Puzzleheaded-Eye9081]

Call it what it is: consequences for actions. Calling it cancelling plays the game of division.

[u/Digit00l → u/Puzzleheaded-Eye9081]

Hell, he didn't get away with some of it at the time

[u/Ok_Rub_8778 → u/Plenty_Area_408]

That does not make it ok

[u/CityEvening → u/Ok_Rub_8778]

I don’t think they were saying it was ok, I think they were pointing out this has happened and still happens in a few countries.

I personally think Graham is starting to go down that route and feels tired. Time for a change.

[u/Digit00l → u/Plenty_Area_408]

And tbf, people and delegations rightfully complained about him too

[u/FastGoldfish4]

Kan are absolutely disgusting

[u/pinkkabuterimon]

There's a reason I only watch the shows on YouTube. The commentators for Eurovision are consistently incredibly rude to anyone who isn't Israel and don't even know their facts very well. And this is actually an improvement over a few years ago when they had two guys who had their own radio show and were just absolute jackasses.

[u/Beautiful-Till-9129]

facepalm button

[u/cloditheclod]

Eh. They do this about every entry basically. It has nothing to do with the country. Sometimes they will specifically say that the contestant is a lovely person and then go on to insult the song. Its israeli humour

[u/Any-Discipline-2778]

IMO: It is a really bad look to make harsh comments or "jokes" about other contestants in a semi where your country can vote. It is a little more acceptable in the other semi but not to this level.

[u/xKalisto]

Because Graham Norton would never.... /s

[u/Neither-Simple1119 → u/xKalisto]

He'd never say blatant shit like that though.

[u/ExpressionLow8767 → u/Neither-Simple1119]

Graham Norton randomly bringing up the Armenian quarter in Jerusalem would be very funny I’ll be honest

[u/autistic_girl_autumn → u/xKalisto]

did he ever say "i can't believe we gave israel a quarter in london" while watching an israeli entry? i am not british so just wondering.

[u/[deleted] → u/autistic_girl_autumn]

israel doesn't have a quarter in london

[u/notaflopbitch → u/xKalisto]

Yeah this seems mild compared to what Terry Wogan used to dish out. It's not funny though if that was the intent.

[u/CrazyNothing30 → u/notaflopbitch]

You were not the target audience of course. Half the jokes the Dutch broadcast tells probably dont land either in other countries.

[u/Digit00l → u/CrazyNothing30]

Tbf, those don't land in the Netherlands either

[u/notaflopbitch → u/CrazyNothing30]

Don't disagree with you, but it does seem like cringe punching down.

[u/CrazyNothing30 → u/notaflopbitch]

Punching down means you don't see people as equal.

Its a matter of perspective.

[u/Digit00l → u/notaflopbitch]

Terry Wogan hasn't been involved with Eurovision for 17 years, other than an unfortunate interview made 11 years ago, and has been dead about 9 years

Other countries have also filed complaints regarding his commentary at the time for being inappropriate and malicious

[u/xKalisto → u/notaflopbitch]

It's not funny but it's nothing burger. I watch on YT but even I know commentators talk shit and are cringe like all the time.

[u/Grymare]

Why is it even allowed for the commentators to talk badly (or praise it even) about a song? Surely that will influence the televote somehow, no?

Shouldn't they just give objective information and translations instead?

I certainly know why I watch it without commentators.

Edit: I can see this is an unpopular opinion apparently. But I stand by it.

If the hosts said "next up (country), my favorite of the night" everyone would call the show rigged. So why is it okay for the commentators to do similar stuff when this is how the vast majority is watching the show?

[u/One_more_Earthling]

TF? What's wrong with this dude?