[1/3]Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki hold a joint press conference in Warsaw, Poland on July 5, 2023. Portal/Kacper Pempel/File Photo acquire license rights
ROME, Oct 20 (Portal) – Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Friday she has split from her television journalist partner Andrea Giambruno, who has drawn criticism for sexist comments in recent weeks.
Meloni told reporters last month that she should not be convicted of Giambruno’s comments and would not answer questions about his behavior in the future.
The split comes as the 46-year-old prime minister celebrates her first year in office at the head of a right-wing coalition government that has defended the traditional family as one of its political hallmarks.
“My relationship with Andrea Giambruno, which has lasted almost ten years, ends here,” Meloni wrote on her social media accounts. “Our paths have diverged for some time and it is time to acknowledge that,” she added.
Meloni said she was not distracted by difficulties in her personal life, saying “anyone who hoped to weaken me by beating me at home” would not succeed.
The couple, who met in a television studio in 2014, have a seven-year-old daughter.
Giambruno, 42, is the presenter of a news program for Mediaset, part of the media group MFE (MFEB.MI), which is owned by the heirs of the late Silvio Berlusconi, a former prime minister and Meloni ally.
This week, another satirical Mediaset current affairs program aired off-air video clips from Giambruno’s program in which he is seen using swear words, touching his groin and appearing to make advances toward a female colleague.
“Why haven’t I met you before?” he asks her.
In a second audio recording aired on Thursday, Giambruno can be heard talking about having an affair and telling colleagues they could work with him if they took part in group sex.
The television journalist was widely criticized in August for his comments, which were interpreted by many as victim-blaming, following a gang rape case.
Giambruno could not immediately be reached for comment.
Marco Furfaro of the opposition Democratic Party called Giambruno’s comments “pure chauvinism and sexism… uncommentable filth.”
Editing by Gavin Jones and Deborah Kyvrikosaios
Our standards: The Thomson Portal Trust Principles.
Acquire license rights, opens new tab