Placebo singer-guitarist Brian Molko is ruffling political feathers in Italy after lashing out against the country’s right-wing Prime Minster Giorgia Meloni, calling her a “fascist” and a “racist” during a packed concert near Turin.
Prosecutors in Turin have now opened an investigation against the U.S.-born frontman of the British alt-rock band following his performance last week in front of 10,000 fans at the Sonic Park festival in Stupinigi outside Turin, according to multiple press reports. Molko’s insults at Italy’s prime minister from the stage also included calling Meloni a “piece of shit.”
Meloni leads the Brothers of Italy party, which has neo-fascist roots and heads Italy’s most right-wing coalition government since World War II. She scored victory last September while running on anti-immigration policies, as well as plans to limit LGBTQ rights.
Italy’s criminal code allows for small fines of up to €5,000 ($5,600) for anyone who “publicly defames the Republic” including the government, parliament and the army. The country also has very punitive libel laws.
Italian author and activist Roberto Saviano, whose Neapolitan mob exposé “Gomorrah” is the basis for the popular HBO Max series of the same title, is in the midst of a defamation lawsuit being brought against him by Meloni for calling her “a bastard” while blasting her stance on migrants.
For Placebo, the most significant fallout from Molko calling Meloni a “fascist” is probably that now there is political pushback against their upcoming Italian concert scheduled for Aug. 1 in the city of Sassari, on the island of Sardinia. A right-wing member of the Sassari city council, Mariolino Andria, has launched an appeal asking the city’s mayor, Nanni Campus, who is also a right-winger, “what action the administration intends to take to avoid an unpleasant replica of what happened in Stupingi and how you intend to censor [the possibility] of such an event.”
Placebo’s management could not be immediately reached for comment.
