Contents:
- FRANCE NOMATED A GAY FRENCH MOROCN FOR EUROVISN. THE RPONSE? CAPHONY.
- BILAL HASSANI, A GAY FRENCH SGER, IS THE MIDDLE OF ISRAEL’S EUROVISN STORM‘JE SUIS FREE’A PREVLY UNKNOWN 19-YEAR-OLD IS THE LIVG EMBODIMENT OF ALMOST EVERY SOCIAL STRS TEARG AT THE FABRIC OF EUROPE: IMMIGRATN, INTY, NATNAL AFFILIATN.NOGA TARNOPOLSKYUPDATED MAR. 01, 2019 6:17AM EST / PUBLISHED MAR. 01, 2019 5:52AM EST FOC KAN/GETTYTEL AVIV—LIKE MANY ANOTHER CHIC PARISIAN, BILAL HASSANI LAND TEL AVIV WEARG BIG JACKIE O AM, IFFED AN IMPECBLE BLOND BOB, WH EYEBROWS SCULPTED TO PERFECTN AND MATTE, PALE PK LIPSTICK HLY APPLIED. FELLOW PASSENGERS ASKED HIM FOR PICTUR AS THEY DISEMBARKED THE MEDERRANEAN SUN.WHO IS BILAL HASSANI? ACRDG TO FRENCH GLAMOUR, HE’S “THE SGER AND FLUENCER WHO SCED JA JACKSON.” IN SEPTEMBER 2018, THE MONTH HE TURNED 19, JACKSON REVEALED HER FANDOM FOR HASSANI A TWEET OF ALL-PS “LOVE” FOR HIS DANCE-PLAYLIST, WHICH FEATURED HER 2018 SGLE “MA FOR NOW.” “THE ANNUAL ENZY KNOWN AS EUROVISN IS EHER AN IRRISTIBLE FTIVAL OF PATRTISM AND POP OR AN UNBEARABLE DISPLAY OF CHVISM AND KSCH.” FOR THE RT OF , HE IS FRANCE’S GREATT EUROVISN HOPE OVER 40 YEARS. WHAT IS EUROVISN? IT IS THE OLST, GREATT REALY TV TALENT SHOW. DEPENDG ON WHO YOU ASK, THE ANNUAL ENZY KNOWN AS EUROVISN IS EHER AN IRRISTIBLE FTIVAL OF PATRTISM AND POP, OR AN UNBEARABLE DISPLAY OF CHVISM AND KSCH. THIS YEAR WILL BE HELD ISRAEL AND N OM MAY 14-18.HASSANI, AN UNABASHED FRENCH PATRT, IS CHEERFULLY, OPENLY QUEER. HIS PARENTS ARE MOROCN IMMIGRANTS TO FRANCE. ADD TO THAT HOT-BUTTON NATN ISRAEL, AND THE BTIBLE EQUATN PLAC THE SLENR, PREVLY UNKNOWN 19-YEAR-OLD SQUARELY AT THE VORTEX OF ALMOST EVERY SOCIAL STRS TEARG AT THE FABRIC OF EUROPE: IMMIGRATN, INTY, NATNAL AFFILIATN. SCE JANUARY, WHEN HASSANI’S “ROI” WAS CHOSEN TO REPRENT FRANCE, HASSANI HAS BEEN ASSAILED BY RIGHT-WG NATNALISTS WHO PROTT THAT HE IS NOT FRENCH ENOUGH, ATTACKED BY FRENCH NORTH AINS WHO CLAIM HIS QUEERNS IS AN OFFENCE TO THEIR MLIM INTY, AND THREATENED BY PRO-PALTIAN ACTIVISTS WHO ACCE HIM OF PULATG TO THE ZNIST E BEE HE’S G TO SG ISRAEL. FRENCH LAW ENFORCEMENT HAD TO GET VOLVED AND HIS MOTHER, AMA, 52, NOW REFULLY SPECTS ALL PACKAG LIVERED TO HER SUBURBAN APARTMENT BUILDG.THE LATT MENACE ME THE FORM OF AN UNSOURCED MOR, WILY REPRODUCED ISRAELI MEDIA, THAT FRANCE WOULD WHDRAW OM EUROVISN OVER AN ISRAELI MISERI LLED DOUZE POTS (“TWELVE POTS,” OR THE TOP SRE A PETG NATN N RECEIVE OM OTHER PARTICIPATG), WHICH IS SCHLED TO BEG AIRG MAY. IN A BIZARRE CINCE, THE PROTAGONIST OF THE THREE-PART SERI, SCHLED FOR MORE THAN A YEAR, IS A GAY, MLIM-FRENCH EUROVISN NTTANT WHO IS ACTUALLY A TERRORIST OM THE ISLAMIC STATE TERROR GROUP PLANNG A MASSIVE ON-AIR ATTACK ISRAEL. “OH, WE ARE FELY PARTICIPATG,” HASSANI TOLD ISRAELI MEDIA AFTER HIS ARRIVAL ON TUDAY. HE IS ISRAEL TO FILM A VIO CLIP THAT WILL ACPANY HIS STAGE PERFORMANCE.THE BUZZ SURROUNDG HIM IS ALMOST AFENG. FRANCE LAST WON THE EUROVISN 1977, 22 YEARS BEFORE HASSANI WAS BORN, AND ONE YEAR BEFORE ISRAEL’S FIRST VICTORY AT THE NTT, 1978, PARIS.HE REMAS NONPLSED. “I’M NOT GOG TO EUROVISN TO W,” HE SAID, AN TERVIEW WH THE DAILY BEAST. “I AM GOG BEE—EVEN IF THIS SOUNDS WEIRD—I BELIEVE IS MY STY TO LIVE A TLY MAGIL MOMENT ON THAT STAGE, AND EVEN IF I END UP LAST, I WILL BE THE BT LOSER.” THEN HE NFIS, “I WANT TO MAKE EVEN MY HATERS DANCE. THAT IS MY GOAL.”UNR EUROVISN L, THE VICTOR UNTRY HOSTS THE FOLLOWG YEAR’S PETN, SO THIS YEAR’S NTT WILL TAKE PLACE ISRAEL, THE HOME UNTRY OF LAST YEAR’S WNER, NETTA, WHO WON WH A SCREWBALL DOUBLE-BUN HAIRDO REMISCENT OF MNIE MOE AND TOY, A CHICKEN CLUCKG TRACK. “ROI,” (PRONOUNCED “RWAH”) IS A SOULFUL ANTHEM OF STALWART DIVIDUALY. “ROI,” MEANG “KG” FRENCH, IS SUNG THE SAME FRAN-ENGLISH DIALECT HASSANI SPEAKS NATURALLY. THE METAPHOR OF EACH DIVIDUAL BEG THE SOVEREIGN OF HIS OR HER PERSONAL REALM SPEAKS TO HIM. HIS TWTER HANDLE IS @IAMBILALHASSANI. WH TWO IENDS, HE WROTE THE SONG UNR AN HOUR. IT OPENS “I AM ME, AND I KNOW I WILL ALWAYS BE/JE SUIS EE, OUI, J’VENTE MA VIE,” (Y, I VENT MY LIFE).AS IF ADDRSG THE HATERS, HASSANI SGS “YOU PUT ME A BOX, WANT ME TO BE LIKE YOU… AT THE END OF THE DAY YOU NNOT CHANGE ME, BOO! SO LET ME FLY AWAY…” FOLLOWG HIS RONATN AS FRANCE’S STANDARD-BEARER HE EXPECTED PHBACK, HE SAYS, BUT HE DID NOT EXPECT PEOPLE TO THREATEN HIS LIFE. IN SEPTEMBER 2018, AS THE BUZZ SURROUNDG THE CHANC OF “ROI” REACHED FEVER PCH, HIS MOTHER AMA, A STYLISH BLACK STRAPPY TOP, JOED BILAL, WHO WAS GURATG A LONG-HAIRED PK WIG AND SAILOR HAT, TO FILM A VIO RPONDG TO HATERS FOR HIS YOUTUBE CHANNEL. HASSANI’S PARENTS DIVORCED WHEN HE WAS THREE AND FOR MOST OF HIS LIFE HE HAS LIVED WH HIS MOTHER AND TAHA, HIS 23-YEAR-OLD BROTHER. IN THE VIO, AMA LMLY TELLS A TALK-BACKER LLED “RAYYA” THAT HE SHOULD AVOID BILAL’S YOUTUBE CHANNEL IF BOTHERS HIM, AND, TO BE HONT, THAT THE ONLY “UNNATURAL” ONE—ONE OF THE SLURS HURLED A SOCIAL MEDIA POST—WAS HIM, “FOR SPEAKG TO YOUR PEERS LIKE THIS, WH SO MUCH MEANNS.” IT IS NOT HARD TO SEE WHERE BILAL GETS HIS POISE. IN THE VIO, AMA, AN IT PROJECT MANAGER, TWIRLS AN ELEGANT FGER BY HER TEMPLE TO DITE RAYYA IS UNBALANCED BEFORE WHISTLG AND LLG OUT “NEXT!” NOGA TARNOPOLSKY
- BILAL HASSANI: HE REVEALS BEHD THE SCEN OF HIS CREDIBLE LOOK FOR GAY PRI!
- BILAL HASSANI EN UNE TêTU : “LA REPRéSENTATN GAY ELLE T MULTIPLE” (VIDEO)
FRANCE NOMATED A GAY FRENCH MOROCN FOR EUROVISN. THE RPONSE? CAPHONY.
” For years, Hassani didn’t tell anyone he was gay. “Y, ” he said when asked, yet aga, if he was gay.
Both were the real liberatn, he said, happened on June 23, 2017, the day before Paris Pri when he released a ballad on YouTube entled “Hold Your Hand” which he sgs openly about beg gay.
‘I Do Not Feel Comfortable Anywhere’Succs has also ma Hassani a equent target of racist and homophobic abe, both on social media and real life. In jt a uple of days, he received more than 1, 500 hate tweets, acrdg to Emergency Homophobia, a French LGBTQ support mother rpond publicly a rad terview.
BILAL HASSANI, A GAY FRENCH SGER, IS THE MIDDLE OF ISRAEL’S EUROVISN STORM‘JE SUIS FREE’A PREVLY UNKNOWN 19-YEAR-OLD IS THE LIVG EMBODIMENT OF ALMOST EVERY SOCIAL STRS TEARG AT THE FABRIC OF EUROPE: IMMIGRATN, INTY, NATNAL AFFILIATN.NOGA TARNOPOLSKYUPDATED MAR. 01, 2019 6:17AM EST / PUBLISHED MAR. 01, 2019 5:52AM EST FOC KAN/GETTYTEL AVIV—LIKE MANY ANOTHER CHIC PARISIAN, BILAL HASSANI LAND TEL AVIV WEARG BIG JACKIE O AM, IFFED AN IMPECBLE BLOND BOB, WH EYEBROWS SCULPTED TO PERFECTN AND MATTE, PALE PK LIPSTICK HLY APPLIED. FELLOW PASSENGERS ASKED HIM FOR PICTUR AS THEY DISEMBARKED THE MEDERRANEAN SUN.WHO IS BILAL HASSANI? ACRDG TO FRENCH GLAMOUR, HE’S “THE SGER AND FLUENCER WHO SCED JA JACKSON.” IN SEPTEMBER 2018, THE MONTH HE TURNED 19, JACKSON REVEALED HER FANDOM FOR HASSANI A TWEET OF ALL-PS “LOVE” FOR HIS DANCE-PLAYLIST, WHICH FEATURED HER 2018 SGLE “MA FOR NOW.” “THE ANNUAL ENZY KNOWN AS EUROVISN IS EHER AN IRRISTIBLE FTIVAL OF PATRTISM AND POP OR AN UNBEARABLE DISPLAY OF CHVISM AND KSCH.” FOR THE RT OF , HE IS FRANCE’S GREATT EUROVISN HOPE OVER 40 YEARS. WHAT IS EUROVISN? IT IS THE OLST, GREATT REALY TV TALENT SHOW. DEPENDG ON WHO YOU ASK, THE ANNUAL ENZY KNOWN AS EUROVISN IS EHER AN IRRISTIBLE FTIVAL OF PATRTISM AND POP, OR AN UNBEARABLE DISPLAY OF CHVISM AND KSCH. THIS YEAR WILL BE HELD ISRAEL AND N OM MAY 14-18.HASSANI, AN UNABASHED FRENCH PATRT, IS CHEERFULLY, OPENLY QUEER. HIS PARENTS ARE MOROCN IMMIGRANTS TO FRANCE. ADD TO THAT HOT-BUTTON NATN ISRAEL, AND THE BTIBLE EQUATN PLAC THE SLENR, PREVLY UNKNOWN 19-YEAR-OLD SQUARELY AT THE VORTEX OF ALMOST EVERY SOCIAL STRS TEARG AT THE FABRIC OF EUROPE: IMMIGRATN, INTY, NATNAL AFFILIATN. SCE JANUARY, WHEN HASSANI’S “ROI” WAS CHOSEN TO REPRENT FRANCE, HASSANI HAS BEEN ASSAILED BY RIGHT-WG NATNALISTS WHO PROTT THAT HE IS NOT FRENCH ENOUGH, ATTACKED BY FRENCH NORTH AINS WHO CLAIM HIS QUEERNS IS AN OFFENCE TO THEIR MLIM INTY, AND THREATENED BY PRO-PALTIAN ACTIVISTS WHO ACCE HIM OF PULATG TO THE ZNIST E BEE HE’S G TO SG ISRAEL. FRENCH LAW ENFORCEMENT HAD TO GET VOLVED AND HIS MOTHER, AMA, 52, NOW REFULLY SPECTS ALL PACKAG LIVERED TO HER SUBURBAN APARTMENT BUILDG.THE LATT MENACE ME THE FORM OF AN UNSOURCED MOR, WILY REPRODUCED ISRAELI MEDIA, THAT FRANCE WOULD WHDRAW OM EUROVISN OVER AN ISRAELI MISERI LLED DOUZE POTS (“TWELVE POTS,” OR THE TOP SRE A PETG NATN N RECEIVE OM OTHER PARTICIPATG), WHICH IS SCHLED TO BEG AIRG MAY. IN A BIZARRE CINCE, THE PROTAGONIST OF THE THREE-PART SERI, SCHLED FOR MORE THAN A YEAR, IS A GAY, MLIM-FRENCH EUROVISN NTTANT WHO IS ACTUALLY A TERRORIST OM THE ISLAMIC STATE TERROR GROUP PLANNG A MASSIVE ON-AIR ATTACK ISRAEL. “OH, WE ARE FELY PARTICIPATG,” HASSANI TOLD ISRAELI MEDIA AFTER HIS ARRIVAL ON TUDAY. HE IS ISRAEL TO FILM A VIO CLIP THAT WILL ACPANY HIS STAGE PERFORMANCE.THE BUZZ SURROUNDG HIM IS ALMOST AFENG. FRANCE LAST WON THE EUROVISN 1977, 22 YEARS BEFORE HASSANI WAS BORN, AND ONE YEAR BEFORE ISRAEL’S FIRST VICTORY AT THE NTT, 1978, PARIS.HE REMAS NONPLSED. “I’M NOT GOG TO EUROVISN TO W,” HE SAID, AN TERVIEW WH THE DAILY BEAST. “I AM GOG BEE—EVEN IF THIS SOUNDS WEIRD—I BELIEVE IS MY STY TO LIVE A TLY MAGIL MOMENT ON THAT STAGE, AND EVEN IF I END UP LAST, I WILL BE THE BT LOSER.” THEN HE NFIS, “I WANT TO MAKE EVEN MY HATERS DANCE. THAT IS MY GOAL.”UNR EUROVISN L, THE VICTOR UNTRY HOSTS THE FOLLOWG YEAR’S PETN, SO THIS YEAR’S NTT WILL TAKE PLACE ISRAEL, THE HOME UNTRY OF LAST YEAR’S WNER, NETTA, WHO WON WH A SCREWBALL DOUBLE-BUN HAIRDO REMISCENT OF MNIE MOE AND TOY, A CHICKEN CLUCKG TRACK. “ROI,” (PRONOUNCED “RWAH”) IS A SOULFUL ANTHEM OF STALWART DIVIDUALY. “ROI,” MEANG “KG” FRENCH, IS SUNG THE SAME FRAN-ENGLISH DIALECT HASSANI SPEAKS NATURALLY. THE METAPHOR OF EACH DIVIDUAL BEG THE SOVEREIGN OF HIS OR HER PERSONAL REALM SPEAKS TO HIM. HIS TWTER HANDLE IS @IAMBILALHASSANI. WH TWO IENDS, HE WROTE THE SONG UNR AN HOUR. IT OPENS “I AM ME, AND I KNOW I WILL ALWAYS BE/JE SUIS EE, OUI, J’VENTE MA VIE,” (Y, I VENT MY LIFE).AS IF ADDRSG THE HATERS, HASSANI SGS “YOU PUT ME A BOX, WANT ME TO BE LIKE YOU… AT THE END OF THE DAY YOU NNOT CHANGE ME, BOO! SO LET ME FLY AWAY…” FOLLOWG HIS RONATN AS FRANCE’S STANDARD-BEARER HE EXPECTED PHBACK, HE SAYS, BUT HE DID NOT EXPECT PEOPLE TO THREATEN HIS LIFE. IN SEPTEMBER 2018, AS THE BUZZ SURROUNDG THE CHANC OF “ROI” REACHED FEVER PCH, HIS MOTHER AMA, A STYLISH BLACK STRAPPY TOP, JOED BILAL, WHO WAS GURATG A LONG-HAIRED PK WIG AND SAILOR HAT, TO FILM A VIO RPONDG TO HATERS FOR HIS YOUTUBE CHANNEL. HASSANI’S PARENTS DIVORCED WHEN HE WAS THREE AND FOR MOST OF HIS LIFE HE HAS LIVED WH HIS MOTHER AND TAHA, HIS 23-YEAR-OLD BROTHER. IN THE VIO, AMA LMLY TELLS A TALK-BACKER LLED “RAYYA” THAT HE SHOULD AVOID BILAL’S YOUTUBE CHANNEL IF BOTHERS HIM, AND, TO BE HONT, THAT THE ONLY “UNNATURAL” ONE—ONE OF THE SLURS HURLED A SOCIAL MEDIA POST—WAS HIM, “FOR SPEAKG TO YOUR PEERS LIKE THIS, WH SO MUCH MEANNS.” IT IS NOT HARD TO SEE WHERE BILAL GETS HIS POISE. IN THE VIO, AMA, AN IT PROJECT MANAGER, TWIRLS AN ELEGANT FGER BY HER TEMPLE TO DITE RAYYA IS UNBALANCED BEFORE WHISTLG AND LLG OUT “NEXT!” NOGA TARNOPOLSKY
“Some want to make me their ‘gay in. But wasn’t long before the repli clud plane-crash footage om 9/11 and homophobic slurs.
BILAL HASSANI: HE REVEALS BEHD THE SCEN OF HIS CREDIBLE LOOK FOR GAY PRI!
Iceland’s pick has threatened to stage an anti-Israel prott when the group performs at the petn Tel nowhere has the Eurovisn bate reached as high a cibel level as France, where the nomatn of Hassani — a gay teen wh Morocn herage om the Paris suburb of Sat-Denis — has fed to cultural clash over natnal inty, relign and sexualy.
“I was never really drawn to polics, and I never really paid attentn to , ” he said an terview wh The Washgton Post at the office of his Paris do not prent himself as a champn of France’s disaffected suburbs or the gay rights movement.
French Mlim sger Mennel Ibtissem was siarly prsured to whdrawg om France’s versn of “The Voice” based on her social media what has been pecially strikg, a untry that pris self on difference to sexual preference, is the number of homophobic attacks Hassani has endured sce his nomatn.
BILAL HASSANI EN UNE TêTU : “LA REPRéSENTATN GAY ELLE T MULTIPLE” (VIDEO)
‘I’m gay. France’s mastream televisn channels feature programs that pict homosexualy as normal and vlent homophobic attacks have risen France the past two years, acrdg to statistics om SOS Homophobie, a watchdog group.