Journalist Victoria Cușnir, a member of the Eurovision 2026 jury, explains the discrepancies in scoring between the jury and the public for Romania

Victoria Cușnir, journalist and member of the Eurovision 2026 jury, provided clarifications regarding the low score given to Romania's representative, Alexandra Căpitănescu, after the final in Vienna. Cușnir emphasized that the performances of the competitors varied significantly between rehearsals and the final, which influenced the scores. She mentioned that the jury evaluated the performance from the previous day, and the differences were considerable, including in the case of Romania, which received a good score. Cușnir acknowledged that there is a persistent problem with voting discrepancies and suggested that the jury could be eliminated or should vote based on the same performance viewed by the public. Reactions to the jury's vote were intense, with Romania receiving only 3 points, in contrast to the 12 points awarded by the viewers. Cușnir dismissed accusations of Romanianophobia, stating that she promoted Romanian culture and emphasized that her vote does not reflect hatred.