2024-02-09 17:05:55
American actor John Travolta found himself at the heart of an Italian controversy on Friday after wearing designer shoes and performing a “Duck Dance” unlike his taste during the popular Sanremo music festival.
The consumer defense association Codacons announced that it had referred the matter to the public prosecutor’s office and the competition watchdog for “disguised advertising” after the “Saturday Night Fever” actor had worn sports shoes from an Italian brand on Wednesday during of the broadcast of this festival followed each year by tens of millions of viewers on the public channel Rai1.
It was a new model, presented as a “preview” by the Italian company U-Power, the owner of which was seated in the front row of the gala evening that evening.
The brand had also announced in advance that it would promote its products the same day on the stage of the Ariston in Sanremo, according to Codacons.
In a press release, the Codacons association said it wanted to clarify “the many obscure aspects of the matter linked to John Travolta’s performance”, without specifying whether its approach was aimed at the actor, the brand or the television channel.
The Italian press also widely reported on Friday another controversy concerning the star of “Pulp Fiction”.
In Sanremo, the host of the festival, Amadeus, and the comedian Fiorello made her dance to the Italian version of the song “The Dance of the Ducks”, in the middle of dancers wearing giant chick outfits.
At the end of this sequence which sparked hilarity on social networks, Travolta refused to sign an agreement authorizing the rebroadcast of the images, said the host of the Rai1 channel, Eleonora Daniele.
Rai explained on Friday that the agreement between the channel and the Hollywood actor only concerned the broadcast of the live sequence.
The video has since been removed from the Rai1 website but has gone viral on streaming platforms.
“If Travolta didn’t like it, it’s not my fault. He was warned, no one forced him,” Amadeus defended.
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