In 2014, Drag Queen Conchita Wurst won the Eurovision Song Contest with her epic hit, “Rise Like A Phoenix” which prompted a backlash from some in Russia – despite Conchita not representing Russia in the competition or being a Russian national.
Unlike other drag queens, Conchita Wurst’s look involves a full beard, which proved a little too controversial for some.
Wurst, real name Tom Neuwirth, was the subject of much hate-mongering from online trolls in Russia, Armenia and Belarus. One top Russian politician even called the contest a ‘sodom show’ after the DQ’s appearance.
Numerous men in Russia started a hashtag on Twitter and other social networks called #ProveYoureNotConchita in which they displayed their freshly shave off beards in protest to Conchita’s win.
However, “Rise Like A Phoenix” did climb the iTunes chart to claim the Number 1 spot in the Russian iTunes’ chart despite the adverse reactions.