MILAN – A sketch on a popular Italian TV show mocking Chinese people has launched a debate about racism, and satire, in Italy.
While Asian and Black people took to social media to share their experiences with racism growing up in Italy, including how it can be fomented by satire, the TV hosts at the center of the uproar said Thursday they have been subjected to a “wave of hatred,” including death threats.
Michelle Hunziker and Gerry Scotti, hosts of the satirical show “Striscia la Notizia” (“The News Crawls”) on the private Mediaset network, apologized for the sketch during which they made slanted-eye gestures and mimicked a Chinese accent as they introduced a segment. “We are pained, deeply,” Hunziker told Corriere della Sera in an