Anger over Italian talent show's sexual assault 'prank'
An organization campaigning against sexual violence is calling for Italy's politicians to introduce comprehensive ethical guidelines for media, after a 'prank' shown on an Italian talent show attracted criticism.
"In a country like Italy, affected by high levels of femicide and violence against women, the mass media is contributing to a dangerous culture," Cristiana De Lia, one of the activists behind the petition, told The Local.
The prank - which involved a backing dancer groping Italian singer Emma Marrone during show rehearsals - was broadcast on Monday on Italy's Canale 5.
Marrone was visibly uncomfortable, repeatedly asking the dancer to stop pressing up against her, rubbing her thighs and kissing her. But the dancer continued to touch her hair, legs, buttocks and breast, as well as kiss her buttocks and shoulder.
"I don't want to be a prude," Marrone is heard telling one of the technical assistants. "But when he touches me so much, I can't sing. This isn't dancing!"
After repeating the phrase "No, a bit less", Marrone grew increasingly agitated, pushing him away and eventually pushed him to the ground, shouting. Only at this point did producers reveal that the episode had been a "joke".
The clip was shown in Monday's episode, to laughter and applause from the studio audience, presenters and guests, including Marrone herself.
The TV show shared the clip on their social media profiles accompanied with the caption "'A bit less' - Quote of the day!" and a crying-laughing emoticon. It was soon trending on YouTube Italia and received widespread media coverage - with many publications suggesting Marrone had overreacted.
Il Corriere della Sera, Italy's most widely read newspaper, appeared to minimize the incident, saying the prank "went a bit far and the singer reacted badly", while other outlets labelled the prank "a sexy joke".
A presenter from satirical show Striscia La Notizia, Valerio Staffelli, defined the prank as "the funniest joke of the year" and presented Marrone with the 'Tapiro d'oro', an award given by its presenters each week to celebrities who have been humiliated.
The singer laughed while accepting the prize, but said: "In that moment, I felt very strong emotions."
Women's rights organization Non Una Di Meno tweeted "Sexual violence is never something to laugh at!", while other social media users branded the prank "disgusting".
La violenza sessuale non fa mai ridere! #nonunadimeno #amici16 @AmiciUfficiale @MarroneEmma https://t.co/OdllDErGJF pic.twitter.com/r3HPhibZd3
— NonUnaDiMeno (@nonunadimeno) April 25, 2017
"This type of scene is broadcast because it gets people talking in whatever way, in order to get higher audience figures," a spokesperson from Non Una di Meno told The Local. "The problem is the price at which this comes."
La Malafemmina, a group which campaigns against gendered violence, set up a petition calling for those involved in the prank to resign, and for Italy's politicians to create ethical codes for TV programmes to prevent future incidents of the same kind. By Thursday afternoon, it had received more than 1,500 signatures.
"As well as affecting the singer, a 'joke' like this affects all victims of violence and abuse, making them believe that abuse is normal - so normal, in fact, that we should laugh about it," Cristiana De Lia, who founded La Malafemmina, told The Local.
De Lia pointed out that the audience of the programme, Amici di Maria De Filippo, is predominantly made up of young people, and said the show "should not promote a sexist culture".
The most recent figures from Italian statistics agency Istat show that around one in three Italian women suffer from violence at some point in their life, while a 2015 study found that one in four young Italians believed violence against women could be justified by "love", or exasperation at the woman or her clothing.
In February last year, an Italian inland revenue manager was acquitted of sexual harassment after a Palermo court ruled that he was "immature" and had touched colleagues' breasts and buttocks "in a joking manner".
In an interview with Il Fatto Quotidiano published on Thursday, presenter Maria de Filippi denied that the episode had any link to a sexist culture.
"If some people think that the joke was sexual assault, that means the world has turned upside down. I don't think that anyone who is even slightly rational could think such a thing," she said.
It's not the first time that TV presenters have been called out for appearing to excuse sexual harassment.
In France last year, hundreds of TV viewers lodged complaints after a male presenter kissed a woman's breast - after she had told him 'no'. The country's minister for Equal Rights was quick to denounce the incident.
And only last month, Italy's state broadcaster Rai was forced to apologize for a programme exploring relationships between Italian men and Eastern European women, which said women from countries in Eastern Europe were "always sexy" and "perfect housewives".
ANALYSIS: 'Violence against women conditions every aspect of our lives'
Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP
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"In a country like Italy, affected by high levels of femicide and violence against women, the mass media is contributing to a dangerous culture," Cristiana De Lia, one of the activists behind the petition, told The Local.
The prank - which involved a backing dancer groping Italian singer Emma Marrone during show rehearsals - was broadcast on Monday on Italy's Canale 5.
Marrone was visibly uncomfortable, repeatedly asking the dancer to stop pressing up against her, rubbing her thighs and kissing her. But the dancer continued to touch her hair, legs, buttocks and breast, as well as kiss her buttocks and shoulder.
"I don't want to be a prude," Marrone is heard telling one of the technical assistants. "But when he touches me so much, I can't sing. This isn't dancing!"
After repeating the phrase "No, a bit less", Marrone grew increasingly agitated, pushing him away and eventually pushed him to the ground, shouting. Only at this point did producers reveal that the episode had been a "joke".
The clip was shown in Monday's episode, to laughter and applause from the studio audience, presenters and guests, including Marrone herself.
The TV show shared the clip on their social media profiles accompanied with the caption "'A bit less' - Quote of the day!" and a crying-laughing emoticon. It was soon trending on YouTube Italia and received widespread media coverage - with many publications suggesting Marrone had overreacted.
La violenza sessuale non fa mai ridere! #nonunadimeno #amici16 @AmiciUfficiale @MarroneEmma https://t.co/OdllDErGJF pic.twitter.com/r3HPhibZd3
— NonUnaDiMeno (@nonunadimeno) April 25, 2017
"As well as affecting the singer, a 'joke' like this affects all victims of violence and abuse, making them believe that abuse is normal - so normal, in fact, that we should laugh about it," Cristiana De Lia, who founded La Malafemmina, told The Local.
De Lia pointed out that the audience of the programme, Amici di Maria De Filippo, is predominantly made up of young people, and said the show "should not promote a sexist culture".
The most recent figures from Italian statistics agency Istat show that around one in three Italian women suffer from violence at some point in their life, while a 2015 study found that one in four young Italians believed violence against women could be justified by "love", or exasperation at the woman or her clothing.
In February last year, an Italian inland revenue manager was acquitted of sexual harassment after a Palermo court ruled that he was "immature" and had touched colleagues' breasts and buttocks "in a joking manner".
In an interview with Il Fatto Quotidiano published on Thursday, presenter Maria de Filippi denied that the episode had any link to a sexist culture.
"If some people think that the joke was sexual assault, that means the world has turned upside down. I don't think that anyone who is even slightly rational could think such a thing," she said.
It's not the first time that TV presenters have been called out for appearing to excuse sexual harassment.
In France last year, hundreds of TV viewers lodged complaints after a male presenter kissed a woman's breast - after she had told him 'no'. The country's minister for Equal Rights was quick to denounce the incident.
And only last month, Italy's state broadcaster Rai was forced to apologize for a programme exploring relationships between Italian men and Eastern European women, which said women from countries in Eastern Europe were "always sexy" and "perfect housewives".
ANALYSIS: 'Violence against women conditions every aspect of our lives'
Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP
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