Italian prosecutors have opened an investigation into the Placebo frontman Brian Molko for publicly calling the Italian prime minister “racist” and “fascist”, according to local media reports.
The band were performing last week at the Sonic Park festival in Stupinigi outside Turin when Molko hurled insults from the stage about Giorgia Meloni.
“Giorgia Meloni, piece of shit, fascist, racist,” Molko shouted in Italian, as seen in fan videos from the concert posted on social media.
Prosecutors in Turin did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation.
Meloni, 46, heads Italy’s most rightwing government since the second world war. Italy’s criminal code punishes with a fine ranging from €1,000 to €5,000 (£858 to £4,290) anyone who “publicly defames the republic”, which includes the government, parliament, the courts and the army.