Estonia’s Tommy Cash Places Third Eurovision Amid Italian Stereotype Backlash

Tommy Cash represented Estonia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Basel with his song "Espresso Macchiato," achieving a shockingly high third-place finish, the best for Estonia in over 20 years. Despite the song's success, it sparked significant controversy for its lyrics, which many viewed as perpetuating offensive Italian stereotypes involving coffee, the Mafia, and smoking, leading to criticism from Italian officials including the Vice President of the Italian Senate. Cash defended the song, highlighting positive feedback from some Italians and emphasizing coffee as a universal cultural symbol. The performance included an elaborate stage act with a fake fan and dancers, contributing to its strong public vote score that helped Estonia outperform favorites like Sweden. Austria won the contest with the song "Wasted Love" by JJ, marking its third overall Eurovision victory. Tommy Cash, also known as Tomas Tammemets, is a well-known Estonian rapper and visual artist with international acclaim and has toured extensively in the US and Europe.