Italian minister doubles down on sexist comments

Vittorio Sgarbi, Italy’s undersecretary for culture, is under fire over sexist comments he made during a speech at an event in Rome last month.

During the speech, the Italian official used a derogatory term in reference to women and boasted about his relationships with women.

“At a certain point, turning 67, the prostate appears and you have to deal with this fucking bitch whore you’ve never met in your life,” Sgarbi said, quoting, he alleged, a conversation he had with French novelist Michel Houellebecq. “The cock goes away and the prostate comes.”

A 45-minute video of the undersecretary’s comments, made during an event at the Maxxi museum of contemporary art in Rome at an event on June 21 resurfaced this weekend in several reports in Italian media, including La Repubblica — leading to criticism from Italian politicians, including ones who form part of the current government.

“If your aim was to épater le bourgeois [impress the bourgeois] you’ve picked the wrong century,” said the centrist senator Carlo Calenda on Sunday. “You don’t shock us, you bore us.”

Seeking to distance himself from the incident, Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano on Sunday said that “freedom of thought, protected by our constitution, is sacrosanct but must never lapse into vulgarity.”

“Respect for women is a constant in my life,” added Sangiuliano, whose government is led by Italy’s first female prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, according to the Corriere della Serra.

An art critic by training, Sgarbi was close to former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, whom he considered a “friend.” Sgarbi has had a lengthy political career, which included a brief stint as an MEP, from 1999 to 2001, where he sat with the conservative European People’s Party’s group.

Asked if there was a risk he would be asked to resign, Sgarbi told the same newspaper that asking for his resignation over “something like this” would be “censorship, true fascism.”