Ira Losco’s manager Howard Keith Debono has hit back at criticism of the singer’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest while pregnant, criticism he said did “no favours to women”.

Writing on Facebook, Debono shared a video of the singer fooling around with the rest of the team during rehearsals in Stockholm a week before the final, which he said showed the “energy in her body”.

Losco finished 11th in the Eurovision Grand Final on Saturday, having announced her pregnancy a week earlier following weeks of public speculation.

While the announcement generally went down well with the public, Daphne Caruana Galizia was among a number attacking the participation of a pregnant singer.

The columnist highlighted negative comments in international media and said the pregnancy hampered Losco’s performance on stage.

 READ: Don't snub the Eurovision, Ira Losco tells local musicians

Losco’s manager, however, took issue with the argument. “We are in 2016, where women who are pregnant have all the means to do the necessary tests – and once okayed by the gynae there’s nothing left to do but live a normal life,” Mr Debono wrote on Facebook.

“A lot of women are still discriminated and at times looked at a taboo at their work place. She insists Ira Losco couldn't move, couldn't wear heels, wasn't sexy at all, she should have stayed at home, no place for a pregnant woman.

“Answers should always be based on facts not opinions and here's mine,” he added in reference to the video.

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