Dutch musician and YouTuber Joost Klein is “very happy and relieved” that the investigation into the alleged incident of violence that took place during the Eurovision Song Contest has been dropped.
Klein’s manager spoke about Klein’s issue saying how difficult the last few months have been for the New Zealand influencer, who was disqualified because he allegedly made a threatening move towards a female employee, according ANP, via NL Times.
Earlier this month, the Public Prosecutor in Sweden announced that there was insufficient evidence regarding the backstage incident.
According to the Swedish Prosecutor, the investigation showed that Klein “made a movement that touched the woman’s camera”, adding that the case has been dropped because it cannot be proven that Klein’s action led to “serious fear or that the man had such intentions.”
“The last few months have been terribly difficult. Although we love performing all over the world, it didn’t feel quite right,” Klein’s manager said. “As a team, we are very happy and relieved that this uncertain period has now come to an end. We can finally say it out loud: there was never a reason for this case.”
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) said in a response that it still “fully” supports the decision to disqualify Klein, and EBU boss Jean Philip De Tender released a public statement to say that the Swedish Public Prosecutor’s investigation was about whether a criminal offense had been committed and not “whether Mr. Klein behaved inappropriately” and violated the rules of the European Song Contest.
“This new development, therefore, has no influence on our decision, which we fully support.”
Klein is now looking to turn the page and move forward, putting the controversial incident behind him.