Jamala spoke about being detained at the airport and facing the threat of deportation
Eurovision winner and singer Jamala shared a shocking story about how she was detained at an airport in another country and threatened with deportation.
The interview was published during a conversation with Masha Yefrosinina.
Jamala did not name the country where the incident took place, but noted that the detention lasted a full day. The only thing that calmed her down a little was that her children were not with her.
“It was very scary. They told me: ‘Citizen, come with us. We have classified information; we’re deporting you. You’re banned from entering.’ They asked where I was coming from. I said, ‘From Kyiv.’ And they said, ‘Well, go back to Kyiv.’ I asked why, and they said, ‘You’ve done something.’ I said, ‘What have I done?’ We opened Instagram, and there were my posts about Mariupol, Bucha, and things like that. I said, ‘Do you realize this is political persecution?’” Jamala recounted.
The singer was photographed and her fingerprints were taken. She emphasized that the Ukrainian embassy helped her in this difficult situation, and the border guards allowed her to call the embassy. It later turned out that the reason for her detention was that in Russia, the artist had been labeled an “extremist.”
“Because of this, I’m unable to travel to many countries. It’s a huge list that even includes countries that are friendly toward us or remain neutral. It was scary, but some inner strength kicked in: not to give up. It’s a good thing I didn’t have my children with me. I knew I’d get through it,” Jamala added.
Earlier, Jamala, the music producer for the National Selection for Eurovision 2026, shared her thoughts on the competition entries from Jerry Heil and Monokate. Both artists have already represented Ukraine on the international stage, so, according to Jamala, this year’s selection could be truly historic.
As a reminder, Jamala touchedthe internet with her Christmas performance of “Shchedryk” alongside her son.
Jamala also spokeabout the national selection for Eurovision 2026.
