Swimming world championships, diving competition: sexist, racist and body shaming comments from Rai commentators. Leonarduzzi’s precedent and best wishes to Hitler

An unacceptable show. Sexist, racist and body shaming during the commentary of the final of the Women’s Synchronized Trampoline World Championshipsaired this morning on Rai Play 2. The commentators Lorenzo Leonarduzzi And Maximilian Mazzucchi they have been denounced by viewers on public television, which is already dealing with the case.

Body shaming and sexism towards Dutch female divers

Among the expressions of the commentators brought to the attention of Viale Mazzini the slogan “Smoke well, smoke healthy, smoke Pakistani”. And then some debates between the two: “The Dutch are big”. “Like our Vittorioso”, the dose is increased by referring to the blue diver Giulia Vittorioso. “Eh great eh”, the two continue, before arriving at an even more disconcerting conclusion. “They’re all the same height in bed anyway.”

It didn’t end there, unfortunately. “This is called Harper, she is a harp player. How do you play the harp? Do you …” “do you touch it?”. “You pinch it”. From here the dialogue is even crazier. “Yes, I give it”. “This is the advantage, men have to study seven notes, women only three, Si La Do”. And where?. “G Sol Fa”.

Racism against Chinese divers

Unacceptable phrases were then heard during the men’s competition. Commenting on the test of the blues Richard Giovannini And Eduard Timbretti Gugiu, Leonarduzzi has mangled the name of the Italian athlete riding a stereotype on the Chinese language. Riccardo therefore becomes “Licaldo”. “The Chinese would say so”, the sentence pronounced by the commentator.

Leonarduzzi, the precedent of sessimo

One of the two commentators, Leonarduzzi, is not new to certain unspeakable exits. In 2020, during the commentary of a rally race, he had indulged in a sexist joke, “inspired” by the second place of the Estonian driver Ott Tänak. “They told me a bad joke, they want me to win a hundred euros if I tell it… Donna nanak, all Tanak”, he said. On that occasion, an apology from Rai and the suspension of the commentator had arrived.

Leonarduzzi and best wishes to Hitler on Facebook

Before that, in 2018, a more serious episode occurred, however, outside the Rai screens. On April 20, on the occasion of the 129th anniversary of the birth of Adolf HitlerLeonarduzzi had written on Facebook: “Alles Gute zum Geburtstag”, or “Happy birthday” in German. This is how Rai commented after the inevitable controversies: “It certainly cannot be a post on a social network that questions the role played daily from the public service in the fight against the apology of Nazi-fascism and in the transmission of the values ​​connected to the Memory and against all forms of discrimination and hatred”.