MP faces trial for hate speech competes in The Masked Singer Finland
The member of parliament awaiting trial for anti-LGBT+ comments was a surprise addition to the Finnish version A masked singer.
Seventh-term Member of Parliament and former chairman of the Christian Democrats, Päivi Räsänen in April, charged with three counts of incitement against a minority group of the prejudicial statements he made on the subject LGBT+ community.
Räsänen participated Masked singer Finland in September Jaguarina, whose cast attracted widespread criticism, including from one of the show’s judges.
Judge Christoffer Strandberg wrote on Instagram: “It was a very strange situation for me personally, because it definitely felt a little strange to applaud and cheer for someone who has been fighting for the rights of people like me for decades.”
He said that Räsänen has been “most public about his statements about sexual minorities” and “regrets not a single deeply offensive, misleading word”.
While Strandberg did not comment on the “suspicion of the crime itself”, he said that “it is high time that hate speech was dealt with properly”.
“I don’t believe in cancellation culture, I believe in free speech and I stand for the right to disagree,” Strandberg said. “But since even today in Finland you have to face bullying, discrimination, intimidation, hunger and violence if you represent a sexual minority, I want to say that words, actions and choices are very important.”
He added: “That’s why I want to say that I don’t stand behind this episode wholeheartedly.”
Journalist and influencer Mona Bling also invited Masked singer Finland About including Räsänen in the program.
“Why does the Finnish media constantly give space to people who trample on human rights?” he wrote on Twitter. “Didn’t it occur to anyone that Päivi Räsänen, accused of incitement against the group, does not fit into the whole family’s program?”
Why does the Finnish media influence users and people who trample on human rights? @Maikkaridid it not occur to anyone that Päivi Räsänen, who has been charged with incitement against a national group, does not fit into the whole family’s program? #maskedsingersuomi
— Mona Bling (@Mona_Bling) September 5, 2021
Producers Masked singer Finland told ltalehti that the performers related to the program and production were brought in “at the turn of the year”. They added that the show’s format “features all kinds of well-known celebrities from different walks of life” and that the show “didn’t want to discriminate against anyone”.
Räsänen shared an article about the backlash to his appearance Masked singer Finland on Twitter. He said it was good that Strandberg brought “cancellation culture and free speech into the conversation.”
A Finnish member of parliament is accused of incitement against a minority group
The Finnish Attorney General filed an application three counts of incitement against a minority group Against Päivi Räsä for his statements about the gay community. Räsänen is a trained doctor and member of parliament, and he previously held the position of Minister of the Interior of Finland in 2011–2015.
The public prosecutor believed that Räsänen’s comments “cause intolerance, contempt and hatred towards homosexuals”. press release of the Attorney General’s Office.
According to the agency, his statements “offend the equality and human dignity of homosexuals, so they cross the boundaries of freedom of speech and religion.”
One charge concerned Räsänen’s writings, in which he claimed that “homosexual relationships challenge the Christian concept of man”, which were later published on the websites of the Luther Foundation and the Evangelical Lutheran Missionary Diocese of Finland. The State Prosecutor’s Office stated that Räsänen presented “derogatory opinions and information about homosexuals” and claimed that “homosexuality is a scientifically proven disorder of psychosexual development.”
“Furthermore, Räsänen has published an opinion denigrating homosexuals on his Twitter and Instagram accounts and on his Facebook pages, according to which homosexuality is a shame and a sin,” the agency said.
According to the public prosecutor, Räsänen also made “derogatory statements about homosexuals” in the Yle Puhe radio episode “What did Jesus think about gays?”
– In it, Räsänen has said that if homosexuality is genetic, then it is a genetic degeneration and a genetic gene that causes the disease, the release states. “According to Räsänen’s view, homosexuals are not created by God like heterosexuals.”
Räsänen announced on its website that the “main hearing” of the charges brought against him by the Attorney General will be held on January 24.
He said the “process” to bring charges against him began “over two years ago” when he “sent a tweet addressing a question to the leaders of my church who had signed on to support Pride.” The “main content” of his message was “a screenshot of verses 24-27 from Romans 1 of the New Testament.”
The other two charges related to “a pamphlet I wrote in 2004” that said: “He created them male and female” and statements he made on a talk show in December 2019.
“On all charges, I deny all wrongdoing,” he said. “My research writings and statements are related to the Bible’s teachings about marriage, living as a man and a woman, and the apostle Paul’s teachings about homosexual acts as sin and shame.”
By Catholic news agencyRäsänen questioned his parish’s sponsorship of the LGBT+ Pride event Twitter June 17, 2019 by linking a post on Instagram. His Instagram caption asked how his church’s “doctrine” fits with “the idea that shame and sin are brought up as a matter of pride.”
He was also given a text and a picture Facebook.
The news agency added that Räsänen is in support of ADF International and could receive a two-year prison sentence or a fine for his tweet. He could also face additional prison time if convicted of the other two charges.