Goca Trzan: Lena Changed Her Surname, Not Her Gender
After her performance with Tap 011 in Belgrade, the singer commented for the first time on daughter Lena's decision to use her surname instead of her father's.
Goca Trzan spoke last night, after a performance with members of the band Tap 011 at Belgrade’s Nacionalna klasa club, for the first time about daughter Lena’s decision to drop father Ivan Marinkovic’s surname and take her mother’s instead. Right before taking the stage, asked by reporters, the singer gave a short answer: “She changed her surname, full stop, not her gender or her address.”
Lena has thereby confirmed what had already been suspected in entertainment circles for some time, that she no longer wants to carry her father’s surname, and that her relationship with Marinkovic, as both Telegraf and Kurir report, is now firmly over. Kurir writes that Lena now presents herself publicly as Lena Trzan.
Lena Watched the Show From the Front Row
Lena watched her mother’s performance from the front row last night, enjoying Goca’s songs along with the rest of the crowd. Asked which of her mother’s tracks her daughter likes most, Goca revealed that Lena, like most of her peers, usually picks “Gace,” “Bunda” and “Televizor.”
Beyond that single sentence to reporters, the singer offered nothing further on the subject of the surname, either last night or before. Her response was, as is typical of her in interviews, short, direct and without further explanation.
Marinkovic: “I Am Her Only Biological Father”
Ivan Marinkovic had already commented on his daughter’s decision to change her surname earlier, in an interview for “Pink.rs,” and at far greater length than his ex-wife. He said the news hurt him, even though, as he himself points out, it was an old decision that he had only just come across:
“Well, it hurt me a lot. Given that this is somewhere old information from a while back, but I only just found out about it myself. I gave a couple of interviews that were, you know, covered by the media… I mean, I believe there are people who support that, when it comes to her. There are also people who support me and are somewhat appalled by the fact. All I can say is that I am her father, her one and only biological father, yes, no matter how many times she changes her surname, she is still my daughter. Everything else is somewhere something I don’t want to talk about. I don’t think it’s necessary.”
Marinkovic made this statement before Goca’s performance at Nacionalna klasa last night, so his words are not a direct response to what the singer told reporters, but rather the position he had already voiced on the surname change itself as soon as he learned of it.
What Is Known So Far
The surname change itself, from Marinkovic to Trzan, is not breaking news. Both Telegraf and Kurir treat it as older information that had already been reported. What is new is only that Goca addressed the topic in front of reporters for the first time last night after her show, with the same directness she is known for in interviews. Telegraf published the article with her statement this morning at 8:30 a.m., Kurir two hours later.
Neither Goca nor Lena has so far explained the reasons behind the surname decision in any detail, and neither has publicly reacted to Marinkovic’s statement for “Pink.rs.” Judging by last night’s performance, where Lena sat in the front row following along with her mother’s songs, the relationship between mother and daughter remains, at least publicly, without any sign of strain.
Whether Marinkovic will respond to Goca’s statement, or whether the story ends here, is not known for now. Lena herself has not yet commented, and neither Goca nor Ivan has addressed the topic again with reporters since last night’s show.
