Måneskin frontman Damiano David has addressed a video of him kissing a mystery woman that went viral on TikTok rhis week.
The singer for the Italian rock band, who won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2021 and have since achieved hits in the UK and the US, was believed to be dating his longterm girlfriend Giorgia Soleri when the footage emerged.
It shows the musician kissing a woman in a nightclub in a TikTok video shared on Wednesday 7 June.
In a statement shared on his Instagram story on Thursday (8 June) the “Gossip” singer, 24, apologised for the confusion caused over the clip while confirming that he and Soleri had split up.
"I am very sorry this video came out, it was not how I wanted to handle the situation and it was my mistake," he wrote, according to a translation.
He clarified there had been “no betrayals of any kind” in the breakup and asked fans to “respect” the “delicate” nature of the moment.
The Independent has contacted David’s representatives for comment.
David’s now ex-girlfriend had shared a photograph of them together just last month, leaving fans confused about the timeline of their relationship.
Måneskin, formed of David and bandmates Victoria De Angelis, Thomas Raggi and Ethan Torchio, received a nomination for best new artist at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards earlier this year, and they released their third album Rush! in January. You can read The Independent’s review of the album here.
Earlier this year, the band spoke to The Guardian about accusations that the heterosexual members of the band – David and Thomas Raggi – were “queerbaiting”, which is when a person might play on tropes associated with queerness to draw in audiences.
Victoria De Angelis told the publication that the accusations come in waves: “There are some cases where it happens, but sometimes [they are] so extreme. It’s stupid for queer people, who should fight these stereotypes, to label it as this and create more hate. The fact [Raggie and David ] are straight doesn’t mean they can’t wear makeup. Or heels.”
David added: “Everything me and Thomas do is always filtered by two people who are [queer]. Of course we don’t experience the same stuff, but we live every day very closely with people from the community.”
