Italian rapper Fedez has apologized for publishing lyrics saying that tennis star Jannik Sinner speaks with « Adolf Hitler’s accent, » which prompted the musician to be accused of inciting racial hatred.
MILAN — Italian rapper Fedez has apologized for publishing musical lyrics saying that tennis player Jannik Sinner speaks with « Adolf Hitler’s accent », which prompted the musician to be accused of inciting racial hatred.
Fedez recently posted an Instagram story featuring lyrics of a new song that said in Italian: « Italian has a new idol named Jannik Sinner. Pure-blooded Italian with Adolf Hitler’s accent. »
A city council member in Bolzano — the capital of the German-speaking autonomous province of Alto Adige in northern Italy where Sinner is from — on Thursday filed a formal complaint with prosecutors over Fedez’s lyrics based on an article in Italy’s penal code that sanctions incitement of racial hatred and propaganda.
« I wanted to take a paradox and it came off terribly, about athletes who are born and raised in Italy but often are not considered Italian due to the color of their skin and apply it to Italy’s top athlete », Fedez said during a concert in Milan on Friday, according to the Gazzetta dello Sport.
