The Romanian national broadcaster TVR has released a statement, defending “Choke Me” as the Romanian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026.
TVR, the Romanian broadcaster, has responded to debate and criticism regarding “Choke Me”, which is set to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest. Following reporting from The Guardian late last week, there has been increasing coverage and reporting on whether “Choke Me” is “glamorising sexual strangulation”, an act which can cause brain injury and death.
Earlier this week Alexandra Căpitănescu took to social media to respond to the criticism, and now TVR has also released a statement. TVR told the German press agency that it is dedicated to “artistic freedom, the values of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the spirit of the Eurovision Song Contest”. They went on to explain that the meaning behind the song will be further explained in her performance in Vienna, stating@
“The artistic concept of the stage show is specifically designed to highlight the metaphorical nature of the message and to exclude any literal interpretation of the lyrics”
There has been no public comments from the European Broadcasting Union regarding the Romanian song and how its lyrics could be interpreted. The last example of a song requiring adaptation following complaints for participating broadcasters came in 2025 when “Kant” was retitled “Serving” and removed “Kant” from the lyrics due to its similarity of a strong profanity in the English language.
Alexandra Căpitănescu will compete in the first half of the second semi-final on May 14.
Source: TVR
Romania first participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994. The country tried to participate in 1993 but failed to get through the pre-qualifying round. At the 1994 contest, Dan Bittman finished 21st in the final scoring 14 points, Romania didn’t make it through to another final until 1998. Romania’s best results in the contest are two third-place finishes. In 2005, Luminita Anghel & Sistem finished 3rd scoring 158 points, while Paula Seling & Ovi finished 3rd in 2010 with the song “Playing with Fire”. Romania missed the 2016 contest due to TVR being removed from the EBU due to debts to the organisation. Romania has not participated in Eurovision since 2023, coming back only this year.