Dance competition judge from Vladikavkaz criticised after calling pregnant contestant ‘overweight’
North Ossetian DJ and choreographer Eduard Magaev, known as DJ M.E.G., has come under fire for mocking a pregnant dance competition contestant in Moscow for being ‘overweight’.
The 44-year-old DJ M.E.G. was one of the judges at the competition, the All-Russian Frame Up.
During the performances, DJ M.E.G. filmed one of the participants, posted clips on social media, and accompanied them with comments about her appearance, in particular her excess weight. It later emerged that the woman he criticised was pregnant.
DJ M.E.G.’s posts provoked a strong reaction within the dance community. Participants and viewers began demanding an apology en masse, leaving comments on his social media pages. In response, he continued to publish harsh statements.
‘I filmed the chubby girls not out of malice. Moreover, I didn’t even mock them, I was just having a laugh, like ‘girl, think about it, maybe lose a bit of weight, don’t stand out from the group’’ ’, DJ M.E.G. said, commenting on the situation.
In other responses to criticism, he used insulting language towards users, calling them ‘fat-arsed’ and ‘stupid’, and also stated that he ‘always laughs at excess weight’.
‘You should forgive us for that. We’ve spent our whole lives doing sport, we’re in good shape, and we always say — get yourself in shape, you’ve put on a tight bodysuit, is that aesthetic? I don’t give a damn about your body positivity. I want to see aesthetics, form’, DJ M.E.G. said.
He also criticised the competition itself, stating: ‘Do you think the five of us guys on the jury were blown away by every performance? We were laughing; at times we just understood what kind of rubbish was going on, what kind of meaningless, unsexy crap’.
Frame Up Strip is a contemporary dance style combining elements of exotic dancing, acrobatics, and floor choreography, involving extensive movement on the ground. The style is presented as a form of self-expression and engagement with the body.
The choreographer of the team the contestant belonged to later stated that the dancer was three months pregnant.
‘We are all different by nature. I want to support women. No one has the right to shame you, no matter how you look’, she said.
Another participant in the championship, Valeria Averina, published an audio message from Anastasia Yurasova, the founder of the Frame Up Strip style and one of the organisers of the event. In response to the criticism, Yurasova urged people not to react to DJ M.E.G.’s remarks: ‘Please don’t react. That’s just him. He’s always like that. Inviting him is a risk'.
Yurasova also said that DJ M.E.G. is a ‘legend’ and that participants knew who would be on the jury.
‘Our style promotes love for women, but today we saw the opposite. It’s a shame that such a great championship has become so scandalous’, Averina commented.
Soon afterwards, Yurasova posted a video on Instagram in which she accused commentators of being the first to insult DJ M.E.G. in response to his joke, which ‘set him off’.
DJ M.E.G. later published a video apology, but subsequently insulted his followers again.
‘Listen, you stupid bitches. Don’t write that you don’t need my apology. Who are “you”? I didn’t apologise to you. I apologised to the girl who was on stage and whom my joke hurt. But you, you stupid sluts — what are you getting involved for? Did I stir up your snake pit?’ DJ M.E.G. said.
He later added that ‘if necessary, I’ll come back and insult you again if you keep provoking me’.
DJ M.E.G. is a Russian DJ, producer and choreographer, and was a key artist of the Black Star Inc. label between 2006 and 2012. He is known for tracks such as Party Animal (with Timati), Moscow to California (with Sergei Lazarev and Timati), and Ugar (with Serebro). Before his music career, he was a professional dancer and choreographer and took part in the TV show Dances on TNT TV channel.
