Singer Conchita Wurst is responsible for the deadly Balkan flooding that left more than 50 people dead, Church leaders have stated.
Austrian drag artist Wurst (real name Thomas Neuwrith) rose to international fame after winning Eurovision 2014 with the hit "Rise Like a Phoenix". The artist prefers to and is usually referred to as 'her'.
Church leaders in the Balkans, where the devastating flooding hit over the week, have said that the region was receiving 'divine punishment' for Wurst's victory.
"This (flood) is not a coincidence, but a warning," Patriarch Amfilohije of Montenegro said, according to e.novine.com. "God sent the rains as a reminder that people should not join the wild side."
The news source also quoted Patriarch Irinej, the spiritual leader of Eastern Orthodox Serbs, saying the floods were "divine punishment for their vices" and that "God is thus washing Serbia of its sins".
This comes after the Russian Orthodox Church previously described Wurst as an "abomination", adding that his victory was "one more step in the rejection of the Christian identity of European culture", reported the Telegraph.
Earlier in the month, Russian politicians also used the Austrian singer's Eurovision win to throw a spate of hate-filled attacks towards Europe's growing tolerance towards "strange" sexual expressions, such as the one Wurst portrays.
Many countries with conservative leanings have tried their best to ban her performances and, to say the least, have condemned her drag persona.
Defending her choices, Wurst had said on the Grapham Norton Show: "It's my own truth. It makes me comfortable on stage. I love myself and the bearded lady is fun and expresses everything I feel."
The Balkan flooding caused widespread chaos, forcing almost 150,000 people to evacuate their homes. The devastating flood had hit international headlines as towns and villages in Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia were swamped.
Various international television news channels showed homes being swept away by landslides. Electricity has been cut off, while vast areas of farmlands still remain under water.
End of Europe
The Church leaders' claim that the devastating flooding was caused by Wurst comes only days after Russian politicians had labelled the Austrian drag queen's Eurovision win as the "End of Europe".
Soon after Wurst won the contest in Copenhagen, Russian state television held talk shows on her victory, where politicians and celebrities took up the opportunity to attack Europe's "degrading morals".
Vladimir Zhirinosky, an outspoken ultranationalist MP, was quoted as saying the results signified "the end of Europe" and "there is no limit to our outrage".
"It has turned wild. There are no more men or women in Euorpe, just it," he is understood to have said during the broadcast.
Similar concerns have been raised ever since Wurst gained international fame, with some countries including Belarus and Russia launching petitions to have her removed or edited out of the broadcast.
