Italian prosecutors have opened an investigation into Brian Molko of the British band Placebo, after the singer insulted the Italian prime minister during a concert near Turin.
Molko was performing on July 11 at the Sonic Park music festival, when he thanked concertgoers and launched into a rant against far-right PM Giorgia Meloni. Shouting in Italian from the stage in front of a 5,000-strong audience, Molko called Meloni a “racist,” a “piece of shit,” and a “fascist,” an outburst that ended up with the local authorities reporting him to prosecutors, according to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
Earlier that night, Molko asked the audience to refrain from using their phones to better enjoy the concert. However, videos of the incident found its way onto social media.
On Tuesday, Italian media reported prosecutors in Turin officially opened an investigation into the incident for “vilipendio delle istituzioni,” or “contempt of the institutions.”