The New Year's Eve concert in Rome has become a real mess and the Campidoglio, a few days before the event, finds itself without artists .
The first, Tony Effe, was dropped by the same Municipality that after having announced him excluded him for his "misogynistic" and "violent" lyrics . The other two, Mahmood and Mara Sattei, in solidarity with their colleague and condemning the censorship of the Campidoglio, decided not to take part in the event .
And so the stage, for now, remains empty.
The history of the mess. On December 12, the mayor Roberto Gualtieri and the councilor for Major Events Alessandro Onorato announced the cast of the concert, Mahmood, Mara Sattei and Tony Effe will perform . An event for young people therefore, but immediately several voices were raised criticizing the presence of the trapper, protagonist of the dissing with Fedez and among the big names of Sanremo 2025. The controversy against the "misogynistic, violent and sexist" lyrics flared up. And Gualtieri gave in: "Tony Effe cannot be the face of Rome, with public resources. Not for censorship but for opportunity, it would be divisive while the New Year's concert must unite" .
Tony Effe initially does not reply, but his managers speak of "damage to his image and career", while the organizers of the event express "surprise and displeasure". Then the singer also makes himself heard, on social media: "I am always myself, I don't know how to be an actor, I make music and music cannot be censored, I write what I see and I live what I write. Thanks to all the people and my colleagues who have taken a stand".
Yesterday afternoon the sensational announcement. The first to do so was Mahmood: «I was hoping to read a different news than the exclusion of Tony Effe – he wrote on social media -. I believe it is a form of censorship so I decided not to participate» . A few hours later it was Mara Sattei's turn: «I will not take part in the event either – she announced on Instagram – because I do not think it is right to prevent an artist from performing, depriving him of his freedom of expression» .
Gualtieri rejects the accusations of censorship ("Rome is an open and free city, we defend plurality and do not impose opinions, but some sensibilities have been offended on values such as women's freedom and the fight against violence") but finds himself, for the moment, with a very complicated problem to manage. In fact there is not a concert: one artist out of three has been eliminated by him, the other two have pulled out. The entire program has been cancelled and they are working on a solution that is only hypothesized for the moment: a DJ set, perhaps a foreign artist .
Yes, because Italian artists have not really digested the decision of the Campidoglio. And in particular women, as demonstrated by the criticisms of Emma Marrone, Giorgia and Noemi. And yesterday even the Fimi, the federation of Italian record companies, took a position: «We are always and always will be on the side of the artists and against these forms of censorship. Freedom of expression is not negotiable» .
Meanwhile, the presentation at the Campidoglio of the two “Capodarte” concerts organized in the suburbs was cancelled this morning. Postponed to a date to be determined. And FdI jokes: «Gualtieri, take up the guitar and sing a few pieces from his varied repertoire».
(Unioneonline/L)