The winner of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest is speaking out against the war in Gaza and Israel's inclusion in the global music event. JJ, who won the competition May 17, said in an interview published Thursday (May 22) that he would like to see Israel banned from next year's contest.

A call made by this year's Eurovision Song Contest winner JJ for Israel to be excluded next year is his own opinion, a spokesman for Austria's ORF public broadcaster said in Vienna on Thursday. The music and its artistic presentation were the priority for Eurovision,

Newly-crowned Eurovision winner JJ has added his voice to the ongoing debate about Israel’s presence in the competition. Over the weekend, JJ won this year’s song contest on behalf of Austria, ahead of Israeli act Yuval Raphel,