The Moscow Times
Arts & Ideas

Singer Rebuked

The very afternoon that Filipp Kirkorov was fined for his May outburst, the
pop star lashed out at another journalist in Moscow.

By Rebecca Reich
Published: August 13, 2004

A judge in Rostov-on-Don has fined pop star Filipp Kirkorov 60,000 rubles
($2,050) for a public outburst in late May that spiraled into a media blitz.

Kirkorov lashed out after journalist Irina Aroyan asked him why he performs
so many remakes. “You need to come prepared to press conferences with stars,
and not like you — yesterday walking the streets and, today, here in the
second row,” he retorted. Guards removed the memory card from Aroyan’s
camera and broke her dictaphone.

With tabloids zeroing in on the spectacle, Aroyan took Kirkorov to court for
personal insult. Judge Irina Vladimirova upheld her claim Wednesday,
commenting that Kirkorov tried to damage the journalist’s reputation.

Later that day, however, when Izvestia reporter Anton Pomeshchikov
telephoned the singer for comment, he received much the same medicine as
Aroyan. Interfax reports that the newspaper is planning to sue.

Copyright © 2004 The Moscow Times