The day before filming: the media reported on the removal of the Russian woman from participation in the Finnish "Voice"

A participant in the musical television show "Voice" in Finland was suspended from the fight for victory because of a Russian passport.

According to the local publication Yle, Maria (not her real name) was selected for The Voice of Finland back in September, and was supposed to take part in the filming in mid-October.

However, on the eve of the performance, the performer found out that she had been expelled from the number of contestants.

The organizers explained their decision by their unwillingness to link the musical TV program with the political agenda.

The Voice of Finland is a non-political entertainment program, and it should remain so, ”the publication quotes the text of an SMS message that one of the producers sent to the girl.

It was emphasized that she is a citizen of the Russian Federation and “regardless of how flawless her behavior on the program is,” the discussion around the project would take on a political character, which the organizers do not intend to allow.

It is reported that, having moved to Finland from St. Petersburg seven years ago, Maria continued to study vocals.

In the new country, she not only builds a career as an artist by participating in various music shows, but also teaches those who wish to sing.

According to Maria, having received the citizenship of the country, she was glad that she “found a second home,” but the news of her removal from the show upset her.

According to the singer, she had not previously encountered this kind of discrimination.

The vocalist is indignant that, as a citizen of Finland, she can take part in voting in the presidential elections, but she was forbidden to sing from the stage on the air of the TV show.

“It just destroyed me mentally,” she said.

Commenting on the situation, the executive director of the local branch of the British production company ITV Studios, Pete Paavolainen, said that an error had occurred, which was soon corrected.

According to him, the decision to return the participant to the project was made by the international management of the company together with the organizers of the "Voice" and has nothing to do with the publicity of the topic in the media.

However, according to Maria, she received an offer to return on Saturday, October 22, two days after journalists contacted ITV.

The incident sparked controversy within the company itself.

It is noted that one of the employees of the show, producer Lotta Stenruz, left the project due to recent events.

“I no longer work for ITV due to the ethical conflict that this situation has caused.

I do not consider it possible for myself to support such a decision (on the removal of a participant. -

), so I considered it best to quit, ”said Stenruz.

Paavolainen also claimed that Maria's case was unique to the company and that no other program had seen this before.

However, the journalists found out that another vocalist with a Russian passport was suspended from participating in the same season of the Finnish Voice.

He is reportedly considering an offer to return to the project.

Maria categorically refuses further participation in the show.

“After the humiliation and stress that I had to go through, I simply will not feel safe next to these people,” she concluded.

Finnish equality commissioner Christina Stenman said that a large Russian-speaking minority, including holders of dual citizenship, are outside the sanctions previously imposed by the country due to the Russian special operation in Ukraine, and therefore discrimination should not apply to them.

Earlier, 11 countries, as part of a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council, spoke out against Russophobia that unfolded after the start of the NWO.

The joint statement noted that in recent months, Russians have regularly faced various restrictions and been systematically discriminated against on ethnic and linguistic grounds.

This attitude also affected the activities of a number of artists representing Russia on international stages.

Thus, the director Phillip Los was fired from the Estonian "Russian Drama Theater" because of the condemnation of pressure on the Russians, the opera singer Anna Netrebko was expelled from the productions of the Metropolitan and Bavarian operas because of the unwillingness to publicly condemn the actions of the Russian government in relation to the NWO, and the conductor and Director of the Mariinsky Theater Valery Gergiev was dismissed from the post of chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra.