Eurovision star Käärijä, who threw the flag of Ukraine at the concert, apologized: I respect and support Ukrainians

The Finnish singer Käärijä, who represented his country at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, apologized for throwing the Ukrainian flag under the table at a concert in Estonia, confusing it with the Swedish flag. At first, the artist complained about threats from Ukrainians and said that he would not apologize to people who wanted him dead, but later he admitted his guilt.

According to the artist, he respects the Ukrainian people in their fight for freedom. He published a message with warm words in stories after the scandalous performance in Germany (to see photos and videos, scroll to the bottom of the page).

Last week, Käärijä refused to raise the Ukrainian flag on stage, which was thrown at him by fans in Estonia. The rude gesture angered Ukrainians, but the star immediately decided to justify himself. According to his version, the blue and yellow cloth reminded the singer of the Swedish flag, and he allegedly did not want to wave the symbol of this country in Estonia.

Obviously, the excuses didn't seem convincing to the fans from Ukraine, so at his next concert in Germany, the artist spoke out about the hate in his direction.

"I want to say that I love Ukraine! I respect them a lot, and that's the problem. Now they want me to die, and I have to apologize to them, but why? They want to kill me, and I have to apologize? No way," Käärijä was offended.

Later, a second apology appeared on his page. Apparently, the singer realized that he would not be able to end the scandal without reputational damage.

He wrote: "I want to emphasize that this was a pure misunderstanding on my part. I want to apologize to everyone for my mistake. I deeply respect the Ukrainian people and support them in their struggle for freedom and peace," the Eurovision silver medalist wrote.

Earlier, OBOZ.UA wrote that the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, Lauryn from Sweden, was the only participant who refused to sign the Ukrainian flag. Read more about it here.

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