ROME - An Italian comic participating in a television show appeared wearing a neo fascist t-shirt and was consequently suspended from the programme, RAI said on Monday. On Sunday night during the TV show “Ballando con le stelle,” Enrico Montesano, a famous comedian from the 1980s, was shown wearing a t-shirt of the Xa Flottiglia Mas, described on twitter by Selvaggia Lucarelli, one of the judges of the show, as "a military formation that fought alongside the Nazis against the partisans, as well as a symbol of neo-fascism." The comic was betrayed by a clip of the tryout scenes, during which his back was shown revealing one of the mottos of the Xa Flottiglia Mas, "Memento audere semper" ("Remember to always be bold").

 Montesano quickly claimed that he had no intention of reviving neo fascist movements, but that he is instead a fervent collector of historically themed shirts. In fact the 77 year-old also owns similar t-shirts of former Chinese Chairman Mao Zedong as well as Argentinian revolutionary Che Guevara. Moreover in his career he also included a two year span as an MEP for  the PDS (Democratic Party of the left).

 Despite this and the comic's claims that the choice of clothing was not political, RAI decided to immediately exclude him from the program, stating that "What happened last night is unacceptable" reads the note released from Viale Mazzini. "It remains inadmissible for a competitor in a public service television program to wear a t-shirt that evokes one of the darkest pages in our history."

 fp