ROME - Director of Rai1, Stefano Coletta, has asked his “vice-directors and all [his] managers to no longer host” Alan Friedman, according to "Il Messaggero". The American journalist, Friedman, is paying the price for offending Melania Trump, having called her an “escort”, during Unomattina. He has since asked for forgiveness for what he calls an “unfortunate joke.”

  The insult was aired live on Rai 1, Italy’s national television channel. Coletta is now being closely watched.

  This director has explained that: “whoever has worked with me knows how much I have worked as an author on the female figure and on the theme of violence against women. I was the administrator of “Amore criminale”, I was project manager of “Chi l’ha visto.” Chronicles of different depths that could not but have led me immediately to stigmatise with great determination the horrendous linguistic expression used by Alan Friedman. So I immediately asked my assistant editors and all my managers to stop hosting him, because false accidents cannot be tolerated in the relationship between men and women, in the representative quota of diversity. They cannot be tolerated, given the responsibility that television has on a cross-section of cultures and sensibilities.”