Rapper Fedez said Tuesday he had
received a "very pleasant" phone call from Rai CEO Roberto
Sergio in which the pair had "cleared the air" after the
singer-songwriter was barred from a show on the State
broadcaster recently because of anti-government raps at the
Sanremo song festival and the leftwing Labour Day concert
earlier this year.
Fedez, 33, one part of Italy's premier showbiz power couple with
36-year-old influencer and businesswoman Chiara Ferragni, said
Sergio's call had been "completely unexpected and very
pleasant".
He did not say if he would now be invited back to the show,
Belve (Wild Beasts), on Rai2.
The Milan-born rapper, who has just recovered from stomach
haemorrhages linked to ulcers after life-saving pancreatic
cancer surgery last year, was talking while presenting the live
stages of X-Factor Italia, where he is one of the judges and
team leaders.
The rapper and pop star created a furore after taking aim at two
government officials during a freestyle rap he performed at the
Sanremo song festival in February.
In the live broadcast rap, Fedez mentioned a "deputy minister
dressed as Hitler" and tore up a photo showing Transport and
Infrastructure Deputy Minister Galeazzo Bignami dressed in a
brown shirt with a Nazi armband - an image dating back to 2005.
He also said "unfortunately abortion is a right, yep, I didn't
say so, a minister did" - a reference to militantly pro-life
Family Minister Eugenia Roccella.
At the annual leftwing union-organized May Day concert,
broadcast live from Rome, Fedez took aim at government policies
on migrants and minority rights again and quoted a rightwing
League party member as saying he would burn alive a son if he
found out he was gay.
The rapper's Rai bar had been slammed by opposition parties.
Belve host Francesca Fagnani said she disagreed with Rai
management's decision.
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