Elena Paparizou: 'Thank goodness I held my father back, or he would have beaten someone up' over sexist remarks

Greek singer Elena Paparizou has disclosed a personal incident from 2005, shortly after her historic Eurovision victory, where she had to physically restrain her father from reacting aggressively to sexist remarks made by a journalist.

During an interview on the show "Kalitera de Ginetai" (Better and Better) on Saturday, Paparizou shared the story for the first time publicly. She recounted how her parents were visiting her in Sweden when her father, upon hearing a Greek journalist's derogatory comments about her on television, became enraged. The journalist reportedly said, "The only thing this girl can handle properly is something else, and not the Greek flag."

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Thank goodness I was holding my father, because he would have taken a lot of beating. Sorry for saying it, but such things should never be said about anyone.

Paparizou described the intense moment, stating, "Thank goodness I was holding my father, because he would have taken a lot of beating. Sorry for saying it, but such things should never be said about anyone."

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The only thing this girl can handle properly is something else, and not the Greek flag.

Show host Natalia Germanou, who co-wrote Paparizou's winning song "My Number One," also recalled the hostile environment surrounding the Eurovision win. Germanou mentioned that while the Greek delegation didn't face the same level of intense "warfare" as recent contestants, there were still negative incidents. She specifically remembered sexist comments directed at Paparizou, including one remark about "the whole country dealing with Paparizou's panties."

Germanou expressed her own outrage at the time, recalling how she and others on the panel were urged to calm down by news anchor Elli Stai amidst a barrage of sexist commentary.

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the whole country dealing with Paparizou's panties.