Kuzmancevic Slams Singers Who Backed Jozinovic

Musician Veljko Kuzmancevic, husband of fashion designer Verica Rakocevic, addressed Serbian singers and public figures who had supported Jakov Jozinovic in a social media post. Telegraf and Informer reported on the post on October 13.

The trigger is a video of Jozinovic singing Thompson’s song “If You Don’t Know What Happened,” according to Informer. We reported earlier on that video and on the demand that he be barred from performing. Jozinovic claims the recording is about two years old and that he was 19 at the time.

What did Kuzmancevic write about the singers and the audience?

Kuzmancevic refers to an entertainment scene that, by his account, raced for seats at Jozinovic’s concerts in Sava Centar and the Arena.

“Serbian singers and public figures ran, delighted, to sit in the front row, kissing his hands,” Kuzmancevic wrote.

Telegraf published the post in full, including the part that follows. Informer carries a somewhat shorter version of the same post, without the phrase “little Ustasha.”

“NOBODY alive was allowed to have any opinion about this little Ustasha. You fell into a trance and cried over Jakov, you filled the Arena and SC for a man who doesn’t have a single song… This should go into the books: how low in mental development, how conceited, and how ready to bow down to any fool who shows up the Serbian ‘artistic elite’ is. Well, he sang nicely for you, so now go back to the Arena to applaud your little Ustasha and cry when shared emotions overwhelm you. SHAME!”

The post ends with a call aimed at colleagues, not at Jozinovic. Kuzmancevic does not name a single singer.

What did Boban Rajovic say a day earlier?

Singer Boban Rajovic told reporters on October 12, as reported by Novosti, that the performance was a wrong move, but added that it is not easy for him to judge how Jozinovic feels now.

“If it’s a foul, it’s a foul, for sure,” Rajovic said. He immediately added his own experience: “I was the first to make mistakes and I regret them, of course.”

Rajovic also turned to the colleagues who backed Jozinovic by attending his concert.

“You’d better ask my colleagues who were racing each other to be in the front row at Sava Centar, or to be his guest on stage. So many colleagues came to his concert to show him respect, and I don’t know whether they would show me respect at my concert in Sava Centar, because obviously I’m not that relevant in their eyes.”

He concluded: “It’s all just hype now.” Rajovic is announcing a solo concert at Sava Centar on December 16.

Both men, in other words, are talking about the same thing: singers in the front row at Sava Centar. The difference is in tone. Rajovic speaks about his own mistakes and his own position, while Kuzmancevic addresses the entire scene.

What does Jozinovic say, and what does the petition demand?

In his statement, Jozinovic did not apologize. He wrote that the video comes from a time when he sang in cafes.

“I never thought in terms of nationality, religion or skin color, nor did I sing in order to insult anyone.”

He also accused the media of attributing statements to him that he never made. “I am a musician, not a politician. That is why this is my only statement on this subject,” he said.

A petition has been launched on social media to cancel his concerts at the Belgrade Arena. Singer Dzejla Ramovic liked Jozinovic’s statement on Instagram, as Informer reported.