The Controversial Eurovision Beard
Conchita Wurst (2014 Austrian Eurovision winner) has been hailed by some as an icon of gay and transgender rights and by others as a dangerous deviant. Some Orthodox church leaders held the Eurovision winner responsible for the devastating floods that surged through the Balkan region a week after the contest was televised.
These church leaders claimed the floods, which forced more than 150,000 people from their homes, swept away buildings, destroyed villages, caused landslides and killed more than 50 people, were ‘divine punishment’ – and all because a bearded drag queen won the Eurovision trophy.
Moustaches, Whiskers & Beards by Lucinda Hawksley, National Portrait Gallery