Current:Home > MyDonatella Versace calls out Italy's anti-LGBTQ legislation: 'We must all fight for freedom'-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Donatella Versace calls out Italy's anti-LGBTQ legislation: 'We must all fight for freedom'
View Date:2024-12-24 00:10:49
MILAN — Donatella Versace slammed the Italian government for what she described as anti-gay policies in a heartfelt and personal speech that referenced her late brother, Gianni Versace, while receiving a fashion award this weekend.
“Our government is trying to take away people’s rights to live as they wish,” Versace said in a speech at the CNMI Sustainable Fashion Awards Sunday night, citing in particular a government policy that allows only the biological parent in same-sex couples to be officially recognized as the parent. “They are restricting our freedoms,” she said.
“We must all fight for freedom, in a time that still sees trans people suffering terrible violence, a time when children of same-sex couples are not considered their children, a time when minority voices are attacked by new laws,’' Versace said.
Versace, who has been creative director of the fashion house founded by her brother since his 1997 murder, was accompanied to the awards by Alessandro Zan, the Democratic Party lawmaker who drafted legislation expanding anti-discrimination protections to the LGBTQ community. The legislation was stalled even before the Meloni government took office.
In a touching moment, Versace also recalled the day her brother Gianni came out to her.
“I was 11 years old when my brother Gianni told me he was gay. For me it changed nothing. I loved him and I didn’t care who he loved,’’ she told the crowd.
The speech received a standing ovation from a fashion crowd, where Versace received a humanitarian award.
Gay rights activists praised her for clearly challenging the government’s actions, but called on the entire fashion community to do more.
“Donatella Versace was the first person in Italy to be so clear and explicit in the face of the government’s homophobic politics,’’ said Franco Grillini, a longtime gay rights activist. “She is one of the most important names in fashion, and I invite others to follow her example.”
Besides blocking recognition of children of same-sex couples, Premier Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government is pushing through legislation that would ban seeking a surrogate abroad, making it punishable with prison terms and stiff penalties. A 2004 law already banned surrogacy within Italy.
Italy’s Gay Party also praised Versace’s support and called on her to back their campaign to get a referendum on gay marriage on the Italian ballot.
'We're all overcompensating':Why so many LGBTQ community members struggle with body dysmorphia
“Donatella Versace’s declaration is important (...) She made clear how this government is diminishing freedoms and rights for the LGBTQ community,’’ said Fabrizio Marrazzo, spokesman for the Gay Party and the referendum for egalitarian marriage. “We ask her to support us, in particular the campaign to make marriage for lesbians, gays and trans people the same as for everyone else.”
They hope to begin gathering signatures in January, aware that “this parliamentary majority does not want to give us rights.” Italy approved same-sex civil unions in 2016, the last major Western country to do so.
Gay, lesbian, trans, LGBTQ peopleand why coming out isn't going away
veryGood! (26)
Related
- Bev Priestman fired as Canada women’s soccer coach after review of Olympic drone scandal
- Memorials to victims of Maine’s deadliest mass shootings to be displayed at museum
- A woman has died and 2 people have been wounded in a shooting in east London, police say
- In a rare action against Israel, US says extremist West Bank settlers will be barred from America
- Florida man’s US charges upgraded to killing his estranged wife in Spain
- Vice President Harris breaks nearly 200-year-old record for Senate tiebreaker votes, casts her 32nd
- NFL mock draft 2024: Patriots in position for QB Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels lands in Round 1
- Can anything stop the toxic smog of New Delhi?
- The Army’s answer to a lack of recruits is a prep course to boost low scores. It’s working
- Former top staffer of ex-congressman George Santos: You are a product of your own making
Ranking
- Manhattan rooftop fire sends plumes of dark smoke into skyline
- 13 Winter Socks That Are Cute, Cozy & Meant to Be Seen By Everyone
- Former president of Mauritania gets 5-year prison sentence for corruption
- Savannah Chrisley Shares How Jason and Brittany Aldean Are Helping Grayson Through Parents’ Prison Time
- 'Bizarre:' Naked man arrested after found in crawl space of California woman's home
- Senate confirms hundreds of military promotions after Tuberville drops hold
- Selection Sunday's ACC madness peaked with a hat drawing that sent Notre Dame to Sun Bowl
- Americans don't like higher prices but they LOVE buying new things
Recommendation
-
Can't afford a home? Why becoming a landlord might be the best way to 'house hack.'
-
College presidents face tough questions from Congress over antisemitism on campus
-
Super Bowl LVIII: Nickelodeon to air a kid-friendly, SpongeBob version of the big game
-
RHOC Alum Alexis Bellino Is Dating Shannon Beador's Ex John Janssen
-
Watch: Military dad's emotional return after a year away
-
Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai urges world to confront Taliban’s ‘gender apartheid’ against women
-
North Carolina farms were properly approved to collect energy from hog waste, court says
-
Memorials to victims of Maine’s deadliest mass shootings to be displayed at museum