Discreet on social networks for months, except to defend a ceasefire in Palestine, La Zarra has just granted a rare interview to Siham TV. She returns in particular to Eurovision, an experience which she describes as traumatic and during which she says she was a victim of racism.
La Zarra was returning from Morocco, where she is preparing her second album, when she gave an interview to a YouTube channel called Siham TV, after the name of its host, Siham Bengoua. The tone is set, but his remarks risk fueling new controversies.
After explaining that she was not familiar with Eurovision, this competition not being broadcast in Quebec, the Quebec singer with Moroccan roots explained that she had agreed to participate because such influence could constitute a great showcase for the pursuit of his career. She adds that she was “prompted” to have artistic control over her performance.
The reality was quite different, according to her. Between the moment she accepted the invitation from France Télévision, which selects the artist who represents France, and the competition – from September to May – she had the feeling of being “the slave of France Télévision “. She also wanted to withdraw from the race.
She also claims to have been pressured to dye herself blonde by the head of the French Eurovision delegation. She allegedly told him that with brown hair, she looked “too Arab and when you are blonde, you look less Arab and the French don’t like Arabs.”
“For me, it was racism,” she said to the interviewer, who seemed surprised by the singer’s comments. However, the machine would have encouraged La Zarra to continue the adventure, until the competition where she finally finished 16e.
She expressed her disappointment by making a gesture to the camera that she described as a “toz”, apparently common among some people in Morocco, and which was perceived as a middle finger. In the process, radio stations boycotted her songs and, a little later, her French tour was canceled, against her wishes, she said at the time.
Eurovision was an experience that she describes as “traumatic”, from start to finish, adds the singer, whose first album was launched with great fanfare by the multinational Universal in 2021.