Rai aired the gag of two comedians on the Nativity, open heaven. On 26 December, during the Rai2 broadcast “Da Natale a Santo Stefano”, Biagio Izzo And Francesco Paolantoni they made a parody of the Christmas scene. The first playing a Mary intent on conversing with the angels, the second that of a Joseph surprised by an unexpected pregnancy. This was enough for criticism to rain down. From Carlo Giovanardi A Maurizio Gasparri and starting from Pro Lifeeveryone to denounce the “blasphemy” of the sketch that aired on Boxing Day. Until one of the two comedians responded in kind. “Bigots, racists, obscurantists”, Paolantoni vented, saying he was worried: “This Rai scares me”.
But let’s start with the criticisms and start with the last one, that of the senator of Forza Italia Gasparri. Among the numerous statements released in recent days, he did not fail to dedicate one to the Christmas scene. Just enough time to get back to work and on January 12th he lashes out against broadcasting and parody. More: deposit a question at the top of Rai in the Supervisory Commission where he defines “blasphemous” the representation, where he even mentions the man disguised as the Virgin Mary, and asks if the company does not consider it “offensive and likely to strongly offend the sensitivity of viewers, believers and not only, and what initiatives it intends to undertake in this regard”. In essence, explained Gasparri, “it was a vulgar parody of the Holy Family broadcast on a public service channel precisely on the days in which the Catholic world celebrates the Nativity”.
Last December 26th it aired on @RaiDue the broadcast “Da Natale a Santo Stefano”, presented by Stefano De Martino where Biagio Izzo and Francesco Paolantoni staged a blasphemous and vulgar representation of the Nativity.
Precisely on the most important days… pic.twitter.com/pXvhfLb6DG
— Jacopo Coghe (@jacopocoghe) January 8, 2024
“Disdained and indignant” too Jacopo Coghespokesperson for Pro Vita & Famiglia, e Giovanardifounder of Popolo e Libertà, who railed against the representation, describing it as a “desecrating and poor taste imitation of the Nativity, with Saint Joseph complaining of having had prostate surgery and therefore incapable of procreating and with a man disguised as a Virgin Mary, represented as an absent-minded mother who converses with a cartoon angel”. “I, so Catholic and faithful, would never have thought of such a reaction,” commented Izzo. “Pro Vita Famiglia – wrote Coghe in X – together with the Hon. Giovanardi asked the RAI Parliamentary Supervisory Commission to take measures, evaluate whether broadcasts of this kind are compatible with the functions of public TV and to offer guarantees so that similar episodes do not happen again in the future”.
“We apologize if perhaps we touched someone’s sensitivity, it wasn’t our intention, we just wanted to entertain people. There is no controversy and I hope that the matter ends calmly,” she added. Decidedly less conciliatory, my colleague Paolantoni gave an interview to Fanpage. And responded to the criticism: “We didn’t believe that these minds were like that darkened from the desire for bigotry and from the exaggerated, dark and mediocre vision of what satire and irony are. This is not Vatican television, it is state television. I don’t understand why secular state TV should prevent something like this. There is free expression. To me these things smack of obscurantism, of dictatorship, of ancient stuff. They scare me”. He defines the controversy as “shameful” and adds: “They profess to be Christians and then demonstrate aggression and a lack of democracy. What Christians are they?”. As for the opportunity to even criticize for the disguise as the Virgin Mary, in addition to remembering that he had already thought of it Massimo Troisi with his Smorfia, Paolantoni relaunches: “There is subtle racism, sexism, underneath these things. At that moment he was an actor who played the Madonna in an ironic and satirical way. There was no desire to offend, but only the desire to put together something funny: they are exaltedthat’s the dramatic thing.”
2024-01-14 14:04:30
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