'Serving Kant' no more: Malta’s Eurovision entry faces censorship over 'C-word' controversy

Last month, 23-year-old Miriana Conte triumphed in her country's national singing contest, securing her spot to represent Malta at the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest in Basel with her anthemic track 'Kant'.

But as it turns out, she won't be performing her winning tune after all...

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has ruled that she must change the title and lyrics of her song due to a cheeky phonetic connection between the Maltese word for “singing” - "kant", and a certain naughty word in the English language.

You know the one... The C-word. Rhymes with “hunt,” but starts with a "C." C U Next Tuesday. Need us to spell it out anymore?

Cunt. There, said it.

Conte shared her disappointment in the EBU's decision in a Facebook post on Tuesday: “While I’m shocked and disappointed, especially since we have less than a week to submit the song, I promise you this: the show will go on – Diva NOT down,” she wrote.

It must be said that while "kant", derived from the Latin "cantus", technically means “song” or "chant" in Maltese, the nod to the more spicy English version, referring to a woman's genitals, is clearly intentional. In the chorus, Conte proudly belts out “serving kant” – a direct reference to queer slang that basically means to do something with fierce, "girlboss" energy.

But the question is, how did this four-letter word become the so-called "last taboo of the English language"? And is it really still that shocking?

The origins of cunt

Believe it or not, the word cunt wasn't always such a scandalous word.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word likely evolved from Germanic roots into Old English as cunte, alongside Old Frisian kunte and Old Norse kunta. Back in the medieval period, cunt was the primary medical term for female genitals, and it wasn't considered offensive. It even showed up in surnames (Clevecunt, Fillecunt, and Wydecunthe) and place names. For example, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, there was an English street calling itself Gropecuntlane as far back as 1230, which became a common name for streets where sex work occurred.

However, as English society evolved, so did its sense of decorum. With blasphemous language like “By God's bones” losing its shock factor, physical and sexual terms like cunt became the new premiere league contenders for profanity. However, equivalent terms for male anatomy (cock, dick, prick) never carried quite the same weight of shame, reflecting the growing discomfort with openly discussing female desire and sexuality in society.

The word became so taboo that by the late 18th century, it was excluded from major dictionaries. One 18th century lexicographer, Francis Grose, even referred to it as a “nasty word for a nasty thing.” The word made its first appearance in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1972, and even then, it remained a touchy subject.

Cunt has its place in literature - famously in Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (around 1390), where it’s used in The Miller’s Tale. But by Shakespeare's time, it had crossed more into the realm of naughtiness. That didnt stop the Bard making several allusions to the word, as seen in Hamlet when Hamlet says to Ophelia, “Lady, shall I lie in your lap?” When rejected, he responds with, “Do you think I meant country matters?” emphasising the dirty joke with a wink: “That’s a fair thought, to lie between maids’ legs.”

Australian feminist writer Germaine Greer has long recognised the word’s power and enjoys the fact it's still considered taboo to many. She said: "I love the idea that this word is still so sacred that you can use it like a torpedo, that you can hole people below the waterline. You can make strong men go pale. This word for our female 'sex' is an extraordinarily powerful reminder of who we are and where we came from. It's a word of immense power - to be used sparingly."

While cunt still remains in many cultures - especially in American and more conservative European contexts - too offensive for everyday use, it's clear the word has undergone a modern day transformation. No longer merely a crude and misogynistic reference, cunt has being reclaimed, especially within online sppces, and feminist and LGBTQ communities. To be “mother cuntress”, "serve cunt" or be “the cuntiest bitch” now means you're an icon.

While it's use has increased online significantly in recent years, it's not exactly a new phenomenon: drag queen Kevin Aviance, a member of the legendary House of Aviance, released the track 'Cunty (The Feeling)' in 1995, which in 2023 was sampled in Beyoncé's 'Pure/Honey' from her 'Renaissance' album.

But while drag queens and pop divas might be “serving kant” with pride, Eurovision isn’t quite ready to embrace it, proving that some words - no matter their history - are still just too cuntroversial for mainstream TV.