Did Rai censor Fedez? The company is in a storm but defends itself

Blizzard on Rai over Fedez ’s speech at the May 1 concert: the problem arose from the text of the speech (about three minutes) that the popular Milanese rapper gave before performing. The speech was divided into two parts: in the first, Fedez addressed Prime Minister Mario Draghi to ask for more support for entertainment workers, and in the second, he attacked the League for its obstructionism against the Zan ddl and for the homophobia of certain of its members, making a list of names of party members, including local councilors, candidates, and other exponents, who in the past months have addressed words of hatred and discrimination against homosexuals).

According to Fedez, Rai in fact asked the singer to modify the text, removing names and surnames and references to parties. Rai then intervened in the evening, saying that it had never intended to censor the text of the speech (“Rai3 and Rai,” it wrote in a note, “have always been open to debate and the confrontation of opinions, respecting every political and cultural position. It is highly incorrect and groundless to claim that Rai has asked in advance for the lyrics of the artists who took part in the traditional May Day concert, for the simple reason that it is false, it is something that has never happened.”), only to be dryly denied by Fedez, who published a video of a phone call (a practice, moreover, that is against the law), in which Rai3’s deputy director, Ilaria Capitani, also participated, which would prove the attempt at censorship.

“Frankly,” said the singer and influencer, “I would not have expected a denial from the top management of Rai regarding what happened yesterday. I was called by the deputy director of Rai3 and a number of her collaborators, who told me words like ’you have to adapt to a system’ or ’the names you make you cannot say,’ and a number of other things. All this after sending my text after application by them, which is already absurd in itself. It’s something I don’t like and would have liked to avoid doing, however, the moment I am called a liar I am forced to publish the phone call, which fortunately I recorded. And that it is one of the most unpleasant phone calls I have had in my life. Truly terrible. All this, let’s remember, on a stage that is not an ordinary stage but the setting of the May 1 stage, where freedom of expression should be a cardinal principle of this event.”

This morning, however, came a further denial from Rai. “The management of Rai3,” the top management of Viale Mazzini reiterated this morning, “confirms that it has never asked in advance for the texts of the artists who took part in the May Day concert and that it has never operated any form of preventive censorship against any artist.” According to Rai, the video of the phone call was allegedly manipulated: “With reference to the video published on his Twitter profile by Fedez, we note that the intervention regarding the deputy director of Rai3 Ilaria Capitani (the only person from the Rai company among those who intervene in the conversation published by Fedez) does not fully correspond to what is reported, as cuts were made.” The words that, according to Rai, Fedez would not have included in the video, are these: “Excuse me Fedez, I am Ilaria Capitani, deputy director of Rai3, Rai really has no censorship to do. In the sense that... Rai makes a purchase of rights and shooting, so Rai is not responsible either for your presence, we would miss it, or for what you will say [...]. I would like to emphasize to you that Rai has absolutely no censorship, okay? It’s not that [...] After that I consider the context inappropriate, but that’s her thing.”

Did Rai censor Fedez? The company is in a storm but defends itself

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