"The song - and its choice by Romania/Eurovision, and promotion by those organisations - represents a reckless normalisation of a dangerous practice. It's playing fast and loose with young women's lives. The emerging medical evidence is that frequent sexual strangulation is giving young women brain damage."
"The lyrics, especially repeating 'choke me', show an alarming disregard for young women's health and wellbeing. The intense three-minute rock song has been criticised for its glamorisation of sexual strangulation, with the song repeating the words 'choke me' 30 times, with further lyrics saying 'It's hard to breathe in'."
"Căpitănescu has defended her song, stating that 'choke me' is a metaphor for feeling overwhelmed by strong emotions and being suffocated by self-doubt. The song by Căpitănescu, the winner of The Voice of Romania 2023, represents her artistic expression of emotional struggle."
Romania's Eurovision 2026 entry 'Choke Me', performed by Alexandra Căpitănescu, has drawn criticism from a Durham University law professor for glamorizing sexual strangulation. The intense rock song repeats 'choke me' 30 times with lyrics referencing breathing difficulty and lung damage. Professor Clare McGlynn argues the song shows disregard for young women's health, citing medical evidence that frequent sexual strangulation causes brain damage. She contends the song's selection and promotion by Eurovision represents reckless normalization of a dangerous practice. Căpitănescu defends the song as metaphorical, representing emotional overwhelm and self-doubt. The UK is criminalizing strangulation pornography under the Crime and Policing bill. Eurovision fans have called for disqualification or lyrical modification.
#eurovision-2026 #sexual-violence-normalization #health-and-safety-concerns #controversial-lyrics #womens-wellbeing
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