MTV Europe Music Awards to run well in Hungary despite anti-LGBT laws

The MTV Europe Music Awards will take place in Budapest on November 14, despite the recent anti-LGBT measures put in place by Viktor Orban’s government. As Deadline points out, the musical event had already been scheduled in Hungary in 2020 before the enactment of these laws prohibiting the appearance of gay characters or people on television during the day, in prime time and in any program reserved for minors. .

Measures which, let us remember, have been denounced by France and many other European governments. Pandemic obliges, the MTV Europe Music Awards had finally been organized in virtual. So why did the music channel choose to keep the event in this country?

An opening into the world

For Chris McCarthy, the boss of the music channel, this is an “opportunity to jointly support the LGBTQ + community in Hungary and around the world”. In an internal note to the channel’s employees, the CEO, who is also gay, says he made the decision after consulting LGBTQ + rights activists. Chris McCarthy did not hesitate to conclude his message on a very personal note, remembering the impact of the appearance of Pedro Zamora, the first openly gay and HIV-positive person to have been the subject. media exposure thanks to the MTV reality show The Real World : San Francisco in 1994, a few months before succumbing to AIDS.

“It was in the 90s, and I had never met another gay person before. My only benchmark was television. It gave me a direct window to a new world, and also the hope of knowing that I was not alone. To all the kids at home: There is hope, and you will always find a home with us on MTV Entertainment, ”he wrote.