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An Italian court has ordered journalist Giulia Cortese to pay 5,000 euros in damages to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The latter had filed a lawsuit after a series of tweets by Cortese in which she vertically challenged the neo-fascist premier. According to the judge, this amounted to “body shame.”
Meloni has been unable to deal with Cortese for some time. It began in 2021, when Meloni and her far-right Brothers of Italy party were still in opposition. Cortese warned of the danger Meloni posed, posting a photoshopped image on social media of herself standing in front of a bookcase containing a framed portrait of Benito Mussolini. After Meloni threatened to sue her, Cortese took the photo offline, saying he had no idea it was fake. Cortese said Meloni had deliberately launched a media smear campaign against her, proving she was a “little woman.”
Later, Cortese returned to this. She wrote in response to Meloni: “You don't scare me, Giorgia Meloni. After all, you are only 4 feet tall. I can't even see you.” She has now been convicted for those tweets. In addition to the fine imposed, Cortese was also given a conditional compensation of 1,200 euros if she repeats the offence.
Commenting on the ruling, Cortese said: “The Italian government has a serious problem with freedom of expression and journalistic dissent. The country seems to be moving closer to Viktor Orbán’s Hungary. These are bad times for independent journalists and opinion makers. Let’s hope for better times. We will not give up.”
Journalist and best-selling author Roberto Saviano, known for his best-selling book Gomorrah, can also agree that Meloni has little sympathy for journalists who criticize her. Last year, he was also ordered to pay a fine to Meloni after she filed a lawsuit against him. In an interview, Saviano spoke out against Meloni and Matteo Salvini’s policy of abandoning migrants in trouble at sea. He then said: “How can you? Meloni, Salvini: bastards.”
Italian media reported that Meloni's height is not 1.20 metres, but 1.63 metres.
