Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has taken legal action against the frontman of British alt rock band Placebo after he called her “racist” and “fascist” during a concert outside the city of Turin last month, according to Italian media. Brian Molko, Placebo’s singer, also appeared to call Meloni a “piece of shit” at the Sonic Park festival in Stupinigi. After clips of Molko shouting in Italian began circulating on social media, local authorities reported him to prosecutors, who opened a “contempt of the institutions” investigation, according to Politico. Meloni has since filed a defamation suit against the musician, Italian media reported Wednesday. The 46-year-old prime minister, who leads the far-right Brothers of Italy party, has a history of taking litigious action against her critics. Last November, she sued two reporters from the Italian newspaper Domani for aggravated criminal defamation. A trial in the case is set to begin next July. That same month, she separately filed a defamation suit against writer Roberto Saviano, who called her a “bastard” on television after she said that NGO rescue boats attempting to save refugees should be sunk.
