A sex-hungry Italian minister has been urged to resign after alleging he slept with 1,500 women and used misogynistic language at an art gallery event.
Vittorio Sgarbi – a deputy culture minister in the government of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni – stunned attendees at an event in Rome when he used a derogatory term in reference to women and praised his own penis.
The 71-year-old – who is a controversial art critic – has dated a string of adult film stars, and was a friend of the late Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi – known for his ‘Bunga Bunga parties’ – who died last month aged 86 .
While the event was held last month at the MAXXI national museum of contemporary art in the Italian capital, footage of Sgarbi’s remarks has only just emerged.
In the video, he sits on stage bragging that he slept with “nine.” [women] a month” and touted his penis as a “knowledge organ” – but admitted he didn’t know the exact number because he doesn’t have a “penis counter.”
Vittorio Sgarbi is a deputy minister of culture in the government of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
‘At one point he [French author Michel Houellebecq] told me there’s a time in life when we only know one organ: the d*ck,” he said, addressing fellow speaker and Italian rock singer Morgan, and the gallery’s president, Alessandro Giuli.
‘The d*ck is an organ of knowledge, that is, of penetration, it serves [make us] understand,” he told the crowd.
The June 21 event marked the summer opening of the MAXXI art gallery.
At one point, Sgarbi took a call onstage and barked, “Who the f*** is this?”
He called the person he was talking to a “cuckold” and bragged about the number of women he had bedded over the phone.
The deputy minister also claimed that Berlusconi, who had died just over a week before the event, had slept with ‘less than 100 women’ in his life – something Sgarbi described as a ‘tragedy’.
At one point, the controversial critic went on a rant about a conversation he had with the French novelist Houellebecq.
“At some point, when you turn 67, the prostate shows up and you have to deal with this asshole you’ve never met in your life,” he said.
“The c*ck goes away and the prostate comes.”
Morgan asked Sgarbi, “How many women have you slept with?”
Sgarbi replied, “I don’t have a penis counter, so I don’t know, but I can answer you like the great Califano (Italian lyricist), and I estimate an average of three per month and when I was active. was even nine or twelve a month.
“So it comes down to a minimum of 1500.”
Sgarbi attends Silvio Berlusconi’s state funeral in Milan, June 14
A 45-minute video of the minister’s remarks was circulated in Italian media, including La Repubblica newspaper.
The publication reported that a letter was signed by 44 of the 49 (mostly female) employees of the MAXXI gallery, urging the president to defend her values.
The La Repubblica report subsequently sparked criticism from Italian politicians, with Italy’s opposition Five Star party calling for his resignation from the government.
They said his comments were “serious and sexist,” while centrist political leader Carlo Calenda called Sgarbi a “disgrace.”
“If your goal was to become épater le bourgeois [impress the bourgeois] you chose the wrong century,’ Calenda said. “You don’t shock us, you bore us.”
A prominent film director and author, Cristina Comencini, who was scheduled to speak at MAXXI on July 4, said she would no longer do so, citing the minister’s comments and “the way he talked about women.”
Gennaro Sangiuliano, Italy’s culture minister, said he wrote a letter to the gallery in Rome asking for details of his secretary of state’s actions, adding that there was no room for any kind of “vulgarity” in the room .
Sangiuliano said sexism and profanity are “impermissible in all contexts,” especially “in a cultural space and from someone representing institutions.”
He said that “freedom of thought, protected by our constitution, is sacred but should never fall into vulgarity.”
“Respect for women is a constant in my life,” he added.
It is clear that Sgarbi has an “open relationship” with 50-year-old actress and model, Sabrina Colle, who has been around since 1998.
Sgarbi, for his part, has doubled down on his remarks and refused to step down.
He has complained that his critics were leftists who tried to get him to cancel, saying he was merely quoting Houellebecq in his praise of his penis.
In a later interview with La Repubblica, he pointed to Mozart’s love of toilet humor and sarcastically stated, “Let’s censor Mozart.”
He claimed his outburst was a “show between two actors.” “Morgan asked me how many wives I’d had and I answered,” he said. “It’s freedom of speech.”
When asked if he would resign, he told the publication that demanding his resignation over this issue would be “censorship, real fascism.”
It is clear that Sgarbi has an “open relationship” with 50-year-old actress and model, Sabrina Colle, who has been around since 1998.
He is somewhat of a celebrity himself in Italy and has been mayor of several cities. He is currently the mayor of Arpino, in the Lazio region.
In 2012, he was ousted as mayor of the Sicilian city of Salemi after failing to acknowledge mafia interference in his cabinet.
The 71-year-old (left) has dated a string of adult film stars and was friends with the late Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (right), who was known for his ‘Bunga Bunga parties’
Sgarbi hailed Berlusconi’s legacy as the longest-serving post-war Italian prime minister, which critics say ushered in a new era of sloppy politics.
He has said: “Without Berlusconi today we wouldn’t have Giorgia Meloni”, who is the first ever woman to hold the position of Prime Minister of Italy.
Berlusconi died in June and is remembered as a media magnate and billionaire, but also for his string of scandals – including his ‘Bunga Bunga’ sex parties.
He was once charged and convicted of paying for sex with a 17-year-old girl, Moroccan exotic dancer Karima El Mahroug, but was eventually acquitted.