Italian rock band Måneskin, who won the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest on May 22, will be taking a drug test for allegedly doing cocaine on the show's live, global broadcast.
While the band anxiously awaited the results of the competition, some viewers noticed that lead singer Damiano David was bending his head down towards the table behind a bucket of beers. A clip of the moment went viral on Twitter, as the poster suggested that David appeared to be snorting a line of cocaine.
"Covid-free but not cocaine-free…" they joked in the video's caption on Twitter, which has reached 83,000 views at the time of publication.
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Covid-free but not cocaine-free… 😂#Eurovision #Eurovision2021 #Italy pic.twitter.com/EuvYwBdbiw
— Shuj 🐻 (@ShadesDaddyy) May 22, 2021
Many on the Internet found the clip very funny — well, perhaps everyone except runner-up France, who called for Italy's disqualification.
when ur band mates have jus been caught doing coke in 4k on live telly in front of millions risking italy’s disqualification #Eurovision #Eurovision2021 pic.twitter.com/02BvtbaTZF
— 🌬 (@vanillakunty) May 22, 2021
Italy just casually doing Coke on live, international television.
— Lia ✨ (@Lia_TheRebel_T) May 22, 2021
I guess the lines never really closed for them. 😅 #Eurovision pic.twitter.com/n5QzF358Nz
Hats off to the tabloid that runs a split photo of Italy and the UK with the headline Coke, Zero.
— Chris Thorpe-Tracey ⧖ (@christt) May 22, 2021
It’s a sobering thought that Italy’s Eurovision winners did more lines of coke tonight than the UK got points.
— Nick Pettigrew (@Nick_Pettigrew) May 22, 2021
However, during the press conference after their win, Måneskin vehemently denied that David was doing drugs, and said that the clip was actually him reacting to the fact that his bandmate, Guitarist Thomas Raggi, had broken a glass beside him at the table.
"[Raggi] broke a glass...I don't use drugs. Please guys, do not say that. Don't say that, really. No cocaine, please, do not say that," David told the press.
The band addressed the accusations on their Instagram Story again later that evening. "We are really shocked about what some people are saying about Damiano doing drugs," they wrote. "We really are AGAINST drugs and we never used cocaine. We are ready to get tasted, cause we have nothing to hide. We are here to play our music and we are so happy about our Eurovision win and we wanna thank everyone for supporting us. Rock'n Roll never dies. We love you."
The European Broadcast Union, which puts on the Eurovision contest, released a statement saying that they had in fact found broken glass around Måneskin's table. "The band, their management and head of delegation have informed us that no drugs were present in the Green Room and explained that a glass was broken at their table and it was being cleared by the singer," the statement read. "The EBU can confirm broken glass was found after an on site check." However, they also said that the band would take a voluntary drug test after arriving back to Italy. "This was requested by them last night but could not be immediately organized by the EBU," the statement added.
Whatever happened, it all sounds very rock and roll.