EUROVISIONIRELAND.NET REPORTS
“Bad taste. Bad timing.Bad joke” were just some of the comments that flooded the BBC’s complaints commission yesterday after Eurovision star and Abba member Björn Ulvaeus made a joke referring to the Boston Marathon explosion that have killed 3 people and seriously injured many others.
Ulvaeus was being interviewed on the BBC ONE live breakfast television show yesterday morning. The interviewers were asking the Abba star how he managed to stay looking so young and fit at the age of 67. He replied ”Well, I don’t know, running is good – unless you’re in the Boston Marathon,” before adding the words “terrible, terrible”.
“Well, it’s so difficult for everyone to deal with,” host Charlie Stayt added, before promptly changing the subject to Abba’s new song for Eurovision. However the Ulvaeus’ comment was made and so Twitter and the BBC switchboard lit up with angry viewers.
User @Pontussengstrom called the comment “truly insensitive” while @glennalli referred to it as “an awful joke”.
Meanwhile, @lassevacklen went further ”Bad taste. Bad timing. Bad joke,”. The BBC itself have received many complaints following the interview yesterday.
The Abba front man was in the UK to promote the song, “We Write the Story”,which he co-wrote with former Abba member Benny Andersson and Stockholm DJ Avicii. The song will be performed at the opening of the Eurovision Final in Malmö on May 18th. Will this tarnish their Eurovision return or will people see it as a non malicious – yet badly timed joke? Here is the interview.
