Saturday’s third Melodifestivalen semi-final is almost upon us. But in the days running up to the show, much of the focus in Sweden has been on the participation of Mustasch — and for all the wrong reasons.
Ralf Gyllenhammar’s sexual harassment conviction
In 2018, the band’s frontman Ralf Gyllenhammar was convicted for a sexual harassment incident which occurred in the summer of 2017. The “Bed On Fire” singer is said to have made multiple comments on a woman’s appearance while filming a commercial. At one point, he pushed a beer bottle between her breasts. Gyllenhammar claimed not to recall the incident but said it sounded like “something he could do in a playful way”. The District Court rejected his statement, sentencing him to SEK 10,000 in daily fines. In May 2019, Mustasch printed t-shirts with the band’s logo emblazoned over a beer bottle pressed between a woman’s breasts.
Victim appeals for SVT to remove Mustasch from Melfest
The now 28-year-old victim “Isabell” has appealed for SVT to remove Mustasch from Melodifestivalen. She emailed the broadcaster when the group was first announced for the contest. In an email, seen by Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, Isabell writes: “The pressure was a sexist, abusive and sexually alluding one, and at my expense. I can not go into more than that… [Ralf] does not have to be on stage in the middle of prime time among young women in the television team who may not dare to speak out against him…I want to spare them from it”. Aftonbladet reports that another 40 people had reached out to SVT regarding Mustasch’s participation by Thursday.
SVT response to calls for Mustasch to be removed from Melodifestivalen
In response to Isabell’s initial email, SVT wrote: “I fully understand that you are upset. This is a topic that touches and engages. What Melodifestivalen and its editorial staff have landed in is that once you have served your sentence, you are welcome to compete in Melodifestivalen”.
When questioned on the matter by Aftonbladet, Mello producer Karin Gunnarsson replied: “I can not answer for how [Isabell] feels, but to be exposed to crime, regardless of character must be very difficult. Ralf has apologized and the verdict has fallen, so … they are in the Melodifestivalen the whole group, it’s not just Ralf as a person”. She adds that the t-shirts were inappropriate and that SVT has zero-tolerance for sexual harassment and abusive behaviour.
Mustasch issue an apology
On Wednesday, the band took part in a particularly uncomfortable interview with Aftonbladet. Gyllenhammar describes the sexual harassment and the t-shirts as “a wrong decision”, saying he should have known better. On Isabell’s effort to warn other women in the Melfest team, he says: “It sounds very strange, I think. We’re not a bit dangerous”. The band’s guitarist Mats “Stam” Johansson says that the t-shirts were “a stupid thing, it was not meant as a mockery at all, of course not”. Journalist Tobbe Ek continued with his line of questioning, not giving up when the band wanted to move on. Eventually, the interview came to a halt when a record company representative triggered SVT’s social distancing alarm. You can watch the interview here.
As the controversy continued to build, Mustasch released a video statement of their own on Facebook.
“Due to what has been written about me and the band Mustasch in the last 24 hours, we want to make a clarification. I have been convicted of an incident that occurred in 2017. I have paid a daily fine and then I also apologized to the person in question and now I take the opportunity to do it again. Sorry, sorry, it was not meant to offend or harass. Furthermore, the whole band Mustasch takes responsibility for this completely disgusting idiotic shirt that we had printed. It was in our range for a short time but has been removed for a very long time and we regret bitterly and deeply that we even printed this damn t-shirt. In summary, we have learned a lot from this and we continue to learn and from now on the band Mustasch focuses on hard rock, joy, party, what we are absolutely best at. Thank you and sorry.
Fortunately they have absolutely no chance of winning Melfest. Imagine the massive outrage if they actually competed at Eurovision. They would probably fail to get out of the semi final. They’d flop in the televote and every single female juror would rank them dead last.
Not to pick on appearances but with creepy facial hair like that….kind of exactly the type of person I’d expect to have those sorts of allegations honestly
Oh and also I’m not sure if things are different in Sweden, but in the US (where I live), that thing on the necklace he’s wearing in the photo is widely considered to be a white supremacist symbol.
SVT didn’t seem to have problem on dropping Thorsten Flinck last year for unlawful threat and vandalism, but sexual harassment is something to go by?
As far as I remember Thorsten Flinck had not been to court at the time of his disqualification. The lead singer of Mustasch has served his sentence. I’m pretty sure that’s the difference. It has nothing to do with the type of crime.
I need them to win now.
Very true words Whisker, much respect for you! It’s good that there are people who disagree with SVT in this, Melodifestivalen is watched even by small children so this is clearly a big no from me too.
This is just sick, if Mustasch goes to the final or even Andra Chasen, Sweden will lose my respect totally. Poor Isabell, sexual harassment is something that have even caused people to have mental illnesses. Awful, terrible to keep them in the race SVT!
I hope that at least maybe some good can come from this – there might be some idiot out there who realizes, oh, I’d better not do that.
I’m just hoping. I didn’t mean the case itself, I just meant the Melodifestivalen appearance – if the attention encourages some conversations, like this one, or at dinner tables…maybe that could help.
I think I’m with SVT and its response this time.
You may want to warn other women about your experience but why asking for the whole group to be remove? Nano shouldn’t have competed then because he was in jail. Ralf pais for it.
Note that I’m against that primitive behaviour even if it is carried as a fun game. About the T-shirt, yeah it’s not fun to joke about that. I wouldn’t trust someone who wears that kind of T-shirt.
We’ve seen this dilemma before. Should Michael Jackson’s songs be played on radio? Should Peter Handke have received the Nobel prize? Can you judge an artist’s work independently of the artist’s viewpoints or behavior, even if these behaviors are immoral or even criminal? Should you give an artist with a criminal past a platform to showcase their art? Not easy to answer.
Think so, too. How could they even write that kind of e-mail to Isabell?
I can’t even… the question is not whether somebody served their sentence, but rather if the teams of Melodifestivalen and public broadcaster SVT want to promote people who are related to sexual harrasment and tasteless mockery of it.
Hahahaha
the world is a mess, everything is a problem
And problems can be given solutions, like how it is with Math.
No masks? No tests? No track/trace? And now this?
Shame on Melfest for such haphazard disregard to health and safety.
Have you been in Sweden this year? Wearing masks at Melo is pointless because no one wears them outside the arena.
Thanks for your honesty and point of view, Una
I think it is important that they do take part. We have to live in a society where individuals have the chance for rehabilitation after their punishment.
I agree but after his punishment they made a t-shirt mocking the incident…
I think the problem here might be the punishment. Perhaps the punishment for the initial offence was too lenient? Perhaps they should have been punished for the T-shirt? I think it is problematic though when they have no open punishments against them to restrict them from pursuing their natural talents. They are clearly considered talented enough to be accepted onto the programme and so if they have served punishment, I think it is appropriate to allow them to pursue their talents. Whether people vote for them is an entirely different question, but I think it is right to allow them… Read more »
Drugs, alcohol, and petty crime according to an article. He used his past, in a good way, as a selling point in making him be endeared to Mello viewers.
The merchandising of the T-Shirts is what is especially unforgivable. And frankly shoving a beer bottle between a woman’s breasts should be an offence that carries a prison sentence (maybe for a couple of weeks or just a month but it’s still assault even without the rapey context).
Nano had paid his debt to society and I think SVT is pursuing the same line of argument here. However I think Nano’s sentence was seen to be fitting of whatever offence he had committed (also it was a long time before 2017) while not only is this offence more recent, but the sentence was probably too light to begin with, especially as it plays into the systemic under penalisation of sexual assault throughout international justice systems.
Completely agree, surprised Sweden are being so careless and insensitive about this. Why give someone a platform that has sexually assaulted a person, and then to laugh in their victims face by making a mockery of it. Really bad taste, and so distressing for the victim(s). I expected better from SVT. It’s not like Sweden are short of talent to fill the show!
People are more and more crazy. He didnt make any crime, stop to behave like idi*ts. Good luck and enjoy your performance in MF, Mustasch!
no we won’t I’m terribly sorry
It really sounds tricky but the main purpose of the judiciary system is to rehabilitate. The singer in question served his time it’s not like he avoided justice or anything like it. Whoever has done a punishable act should be accepted back into society after he serves his sentence. Now as far as the T-Shirts are concerned, this was really a senseless and idiotic move to make and perhaps perplexes things even more.
Its a tricky moral question with no right or wrong answers. It all depends on your stance.
I feel if he has been charged and convicted that its over. Move on you know. Doesnt everybody deserve a second chance? Had he been under investigation now or charged then SVT would have to remove them
Tricky? First you bully people here and then sexual harassment is okay with you, disgusting Denis.
To be honest…
I am totally pro-redemption after sentencing.
But they mocked the incident after they were sentenced…. like they didn’t care and they didn’t showed any compassion for the victim. They have to be removed!
I agree with SVT that if an artist has served their time and moved on then yes they should be allowed to compete – however it is the lack of remorse that is unforgivable, and you worry that no lesson has been learnt. If they aren’t removed from the competition, it’ll be interesting to see how the Swedish public vote
Mustasch was definatly in the wrong but now he has paid his fine he should be able to participate and I think SVT are doing the right thing by condeming what he has done but now he has moved on and we will see how he does tomorrow. One mistake shouldn’t define a person!
Paying a fine doesn’t erase your misogynistic behaviour and mindset just like that… And even worse if they mocked the incident later… That is far from regretting having done that and being redeemed…
I am so tired of people, always searching on whom they can blame all their problems, because of some flukes
First Erik Lloshi, then Alabama Watchdog and now Mustasch. It appears controversial artists in National Finals this year is Contagious.
Remove them! The fact that they afterwards have mocked the vicitim is just disgusting!
Yeah, ok. They can go, and Alabama Watchdog can go right along with them.
I think it would be wise for the band to withdraw from the competition. Once someone is proven to have done sexual harassment, that sticks to you for a very long time, whether you like it or not.
It doesn’t help that that they even made shirts out of mockery. No amount of time or apologies would ever make up for that.
And SVT would be wise to let them go if they don’t want their family-friendly flagship show to get tainted with this issue.
At least, that’s what I think.
Yeah, maybe kill themselves just because people suddenly became to soft over jokes
Joking about sexual harassment is never okay.
Jokes are okay … but jokes about sexual harassment? Big no!