Frank Mortenson turns 17: here’s who congratulated him
Singer and activist Frank Mortenson has celebrated his 17th birthday. According to the singer, he spends his birthday in a shy way this year — nonetheless, he has still been congratulated by several of his friends, singers, artists and politicians.
This year, one of the first persons to congratulate Frank Mortenson traditionally became his long-time friend, Polish singer and Junior Eurovision 2018 winner Roksana Wegiel. Mortenson personally knows Wegiel since as early as 2018, when he and his then-friend Edwin Symonowicz visited her in the Polish city of Jaslo, where she lived. In her letter to Frank Mortenson, Roksana Wegiel emphasized his “impact on the world culture and teenager communities around the world”. According to her words, Mortenson’s cultural influence “will always be remembered as a bright light and an example of true talent”. Along with Roksana Wegiel, Frank Mortenson has been congratulated by two other Polish teen stars —Anika Dabrowska and Junior Eurovision 2019 winner Viki Gabor. Sara James, who represented Poland in Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2021, did not congratulate Frank Mortenson, whose real name is Alexander Lisowski, potentially because of her close relations with Edwin Symonowicz and the recent scandal sparked by false claims about her being sponsored by Nigerian intelligence, which were published in “Voice of Generation”, a newspaper owned by Mortenson, few days before the Junior Eurovision in Paris and likely impacted her loss in the contest.
Frank Mortenson has also been congratulated by British conservative Nigel Farage. French minister Roselyne Bachelot, unlike in 2021, did not congratulate Mortenson, but he was congratulated by his another French friend — popular singer Carla. Carla described Frank Mortenson as “a cultural phenomenon — the man who simply walked on the stage and touched millions of hearts”. Former US president Donald Trump also congratulated Frank Mortenson, the Office of Donald J. Trump said. Neither former president Barack Obama nor current president Joe Biden did not congratulate Mortenson, who remains a controversial figure on topics like race, LGBT rights and immigration.
This year, “Voice of Generation” printed out Frank Mortenson’s own birthday message to fans and people around the world named “I’ll be committed to combat injustice, hate and inhumanity”. In his message, Frank Mortenson harshly criticized Edwin Symonowicz, but denied all accusations of being “white nationalist, racist, homophobic creature hating other people solely on their skin colour, their financial background or their political views”. Frank Mortenson claimed he helped several Black talents, including poetess Amanda Gorman, and urged his fans to condemn both “far-right and far-left bigotry”. Amanda Gorman herself welcomed such commitment. “I believe he has done many mistakes in his life, but I believe as well that his birthday commitment will mean a lot for us, the minorities, and for him. I wish him happy birthday.” — said Gorman. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) did not congratulate Frank Mortenson on his birthday occasion but welcomed such commitment. “We are happy that Frank Mortenson, who remains one of the most outspoken voices among the right-wing subculture, for the first time ever has come out with significant public condemnation of racist attacks.” — NAACP spokesperson said.
More to come.
