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Austrian Eurovision singer faces backlash over his support of opera star who praises Russia’s war against Ukraine

Social media investigators have uncovered that Johannes Pietsch not only praised Anna Netrebko, who performed in occupied Ukrainian territory and openly supports Russian aggression, but also credited her as direct inspiration for his competition song.

byOlena Mukhina

16/03/2025

2 minute read

A screenshot from X. Source: UNIAN

Austrian Eurovision singer faces backlash over his support of opera star who praises Russia’s war against Ukraine

Singer Johannes Pietsch, who performs under the stage name JJ, will represent Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025. However, the artist has become the center of a scandal due to his support for Russian opera singer Anna Netrebko, who actively supports Vladimir Putin and Russian soldiers based in Donbas, according to UNIAN.

Ukraine has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 19 times since its debut in 2003. The country has achieved significant success, winning the contest three times:

2004: Ruslana with “Wild Dances”
2016: Jamala with “1944”
2022: Kalush Orchestra with “Stefania”

Ukraine is set to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 with the band Ziferblat, performing their emotional song “Bird of Pray”.

A user on platform X uncovered that Austria’s singer spoke admiringly of the pro-Putin soprano in an interview, even crediting Netrebko as the inspiration behind his contest song.

“In an interview, Austrian artist JJ said Russian opera singer Anna Netrebko inspired him to create ‘Wasted Love.’ Anna is a Putin propagandist who performed in occupied Donbas and once wore a t-shirt reading ‘Occupy Berlin.’ This ‘mysterious Russian soul’ supports a genocidal war of aggression,” the post reads.

The user also claimed that since 2021, Pietsch has regularly liked Netrebko’s social media posts featuring pro-Russian propaganda.

For context, Netrebko financially supported Russian militants of the Russian illegal entity in the Ukrainian Donetsk Oblast in 2014 and remains a vocal backer of the Kremlin’s brutal policies. Many of her performances across the EU have been canceled following public outcry. Netrebko currently resides in Austria, where she continues her career.

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