The Croatian singer has faced previous claims of homophobia after he was nominated as “Homophobe of the Decade” from the country’s biggest LGBT event, Zagreb Pride, in 2011.
During an interview with Tena Magazine in 2005, Jacques reportedly said that giving gay men and women equal rights would mark the return of Sodom and Gomorrah.
With the theme of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest being “Celebrate Diversity”, fans of the competition were unhappy that he was allowed to compete.
One posted on Twitter: “Ik Eurovision is about the performance but friendly reminder that the Croatian guy is homophobic.”(sic)
Another commented: “Y’all pls don’t vote for Croatia, the guy is homophobic #Eurovision.”(sic)
A third added: “I really hope #Croatia doesn’t win. #Eurovision doesn’t need a homophobic winner.”
After facing a public backlash, the 36-year-old denied the accusations on his Facebook page in 2011, saying: “It is not true that I am [a] homophobe, which can be confirmed by my friends, colleagues and acquaintances from business circles who are gay.
“Likewise, any form of hatred does not correspond to my personality, so to call me [a] ‘hater’ or ‘greatest homophobe in Croation show business’, is inappropriate, because no such evidence exists for such accusations,” Jaques continued.
Jacques has also spoken out about his song My Friend which was written to celebrate diversity.
He said: “It is a song that reminds us to respect each other and our differences.
“Let’s just be friends – regardless of our race, nationality, age, religion, sexual orientation, social status or background,” Jacques added.
Express.co.uk has contacted a representative for Jacques Houdek asking for comment.
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