In August 2023, Placebo frontman Brian Molko was sued by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for calling her a “piece of shit, racist fascist” during a performance at Turin’s Sonic Park festival. Today (February 18), a Turin court has decided to charge Molko with defamation for “contempt of institutions.” 

The offense of insulting state institutions carries a fine of up to €5000 in Italy, and includes a direct summons to trial. Although the crime can also carry a prison sentence of up to three years, Molko is reportedly unlikely to receive a custodial sentence.

Since their election in 2022, Meloni’s nationalist Brothers of Italy party has led a hard-right coalition within the Italian parliament. Over the past three years, Meloni’s government has implemented bans against same-sex marriages, a hard-line stance against immigration (including extending the length in which illegal immigrants can be held in detention centres from three to 18 months) and has compared surrogate parents to paedophiles, war criminals and terrorists.

Placebo have long supported LGBTQ+ causes, with bassist Stephen Olsdal notably performing with a rainbow-coloured bass guitar in many of the group’s international appearances.