Britain’s Eurovision hopefuls Remember Monday have been warned to stay out of politics ahead of next week’s event as old social media posts backing Black Lives Matter resurfaced.
The country pop girl group are under strict instructions by the BBC and their own team to steer clear of any controversial topics, including the Middle East conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Remember Monday – who will perform their hit What The Hell Just Happened? – are understood to have come under pressure from pro-Palestine activists to speak out about Israel’s involvement in Eurovision after spotting posts on their X account in support of BLM.
Posts ahead of the release of a song in September 2020 declared they would be donating ‘100 per cent of the proceeds from this single to a BLM charity’.
And in April 2021, Remember Monday shared a post from the black country singer Jimmie Allen criticising US police after the killing of George Floyd.
One factor in the band – comprising Lauren Byrne, Holly-Anne Hull and Charlotte Steele, all 30 – being chosen for Eurovision was that they were deemed to be ‘squeaky clean’ and free of controversy.
Britain’s Eurovision hopefuls Remember Monday (pictured) are set to represent the UK in this month’s event
However, the band have been warned by the BBC to stay out of politics ahead of next week’s event as old social media posts backing Black Lives Matter resurfaced. PIctured: The BBC headquarters at New Broadcasting House
The warning comes after last year’s UK contestant Olly Alexander (pictured holding a Union Jack flag at the start of the 2024 edition) was dragged into a bitter row after rejecting calls to boycott the event in support of the Palestinian cause
A source revealed: ‘Remember Monday haven’t attempted to discuss politics that much… but their support for the BLM movement has left Palestine activists desperate to get them on-side and make a statement that is critical of Israel.
‘But the band has been warned that making even the slightest political comment ahead of Eurovision could spark problems. They’ve basically been banned from discussing politics at all.’
Another source close to the girl group, who are old school friends, said: ‘The last thing the three of them want is to be dragged into any political rows. They innocently attempted to make a statement showing how much they hate racism with their BLM post.’
The warning comes after last year’s UK contestant Olly Alexander was dragged into a bitter row after rejecting calls to boycott the event in support of Palestinians.
He faced a tirade of abuse and threats, and was given upgraded security ahead of the contest.
Ahead of next week’s event in Basel, Switzerland, the UK’s 2023 hopeful Mae Muller was one of 72 former contestants to sign a letter sent to organisers calling for a ban on Israel and its national broadcaster. Ms Muller faced a significant backlash in 2023 after an earlier post in which she said she ‘hates Britain’ emerged.
Remember Monday, whose name comes from their meet-ups to rehearse on Mondays at school in Farnborough, Hampshire, first gained prominence after appearing on The Voice UK in 2019.
