Milena

Biography

Milena Slavova (Bulgarian: Милена Славова) is a Bulgarian punk rock singer.

Career

Arguably the most provocative Bulgarian female singer of the 1980s, Slavova was known for breaking musical norms and was labeled as an outsider by the country's totalitarian rulers at the time, thereby earning the admiration of the rebellious youth.
Slavova began singing in 1985 and by 1986 had founded her own band, called Milena, which later changed its name to Review. She recorded six studio albums during her career.
In later years, she hosted a television show called Рок с Милена (Rock with Milena) on BNT2.

Homophobic controversy

In 2021, a lawsuit was filed against Slavova for homophobic hate speech. She made very aggressive and controversial statements against the Sofia Gay Pride, including calling Gay Pride participants perverts (извратеняци/izvratenyatsi in Bulgarian). She was found guilty by one court but ultimately acquitted by Bulgaria's Higher Administrative Court with the motivation that her hate speech did not target gay people as a whole, but only participants in the Gay Pride events. During the process, Slavova has enjoyed the support of extreme right-wing groups in Bulgaria. These developments are in stark contrast with her earlier image, when she herself was marginalised by the totalitarian Communist government in the 1980s.