Prosecutors in Italy have begun an investigation into Placebo’s Brian Molko after the frontman called Italian prime minister Giorga Meloni “fascist” and “racist”.

“Giorgia Meloni, piece of shit, fascist, racist,” shouted Molko during the band’s set at Sonic Park festival in Stupinigi near the northern city of Turin last week.

Despite Molko asking the audience to refrain from using their phones for a more intimate concert experience, videos of the incident made their way onto social media.

During the Stupinigi Sonic Park, the Placebo lead singer Brian Molko calls PM Giorgia Meloni 'racist, fascist', concluding 'fuck you'.

July 11, 2023 pic.twitter.com/eqmJLcH4Qp

— Crazy Ass Moments in Italian Politics 🇮🇹 (@CrazyItalianPol) July 12, 2023

The Italian criminal code holds the right to punish anyone who “publicly defames” the republic with fines between €1000 to €5000. This includes any public defamation of government, army, parliament or the courts.

Meloni is the leader of what is considered the peninsula’s most right-wing government since Benito Mussolini was in power during the second world war.

Placebo are set to play another show in Italy tonight in Piazzola sul Brenta, Veneto, in the north-east of the country. The British alt-rockers recently played a show at Dublin’s 3 Arena on June 26 as part of their European tour.