Italian rapper Fedez issued a public apology after sparking outrage for lyrics suggesting that tennis champion Jannik Sinner, Italy’s most celebrated athlete, speaks with “Adolf Hitler’s accent.”
In an Instagram story promoting a new song in Italian, Fedez wrote: “Italian has a new idol named Jannik Sinner. Pure-blooded Italian with Adolf Hitler’s accent.”
The phrase drew immediate criticism and a formal complaint filed with prosecutors in Bolzano, capital of the German-speaking province of Alto Adige, where Sinner was born. The complaint cited Italy’s penal code provisions against incitement to racial hatred and fascist propaganda.
“I wanted to take a paradox and it came off terribly,” Fedez said during a concert in Milan, according to Gazzetta dello Sport. “I wasn’t able to pull it off and all I can do is apologize. If something like this isn’t understood, it’s because of a mistake made by whoever wrote it. So I take responsibility.”
Giuseppe Martucci, the Bolzano city council member who lodged the complaint, said the reference to “pure-blooded Italian” echoed fascist propaganda from the 1930s. “I felt it my duty to act and hold up the founding values of our constitution,” he said. “We can’t allow language that evokes racism and hate to be normalized by public figures.”
Sinner, 24, has become Italy’s top sports icon, winning four Grand Slam titles in the past two years and surpassing soccer stars in national popularity. His rise has not been without controversy, as some critics previously questioned whether he was “fully Italian.” After winning the 2024 Australian Open, however, he was embraced as a national hero and celebrated with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the Chigi Palace.
