Did RAI censor a scene between gay characters?

Over the past few days, Italian social media has been ablaze after a promotional clip of Gloria, a RAI series starring Sabrina Ferilli, was shared. The scene in question shows the character played by Ferilli celebrating the civil union between two men whose final kiss was covered by a black object. At first, many thought it was some sort of black sticker, added in post-production, but upon closer inspection it was clarified that it was a hat thrown up in exultation that actually covered the kiss of the two characters. Why hide the gesture if it's part of the narrative? Rai returns to the eye of the storm, just a few days after the controversy of Domenica In and Sanremo.

A few hours after social media users sounded the alarm at Rai as "obscurantist," a source from the company released a statement refuting the accusations. «The alleged censored kiss is the scene in which the protagonist actress is officiating the marriage between two actors, one of whom is wearing a uniform with a corresponding hat. No censorship, but just a movement of the scene,» they said. According to what was revealed, in the clip (directed by Fausto Brizzi, the same director of the "Liguria da Baciare" commercial aired at Sanremo 2024) a still frame accidentally captures the moment when Luca Argentero's military hat covers the face of his partner at the moment of I do.As revealed by what emerged after the Gloria controversy, this wouldn't be the first time that Rai has hidden a gay love scene from its screens. Now that platforms like Rai Play reach younger audiences, just as Sanremo has become an intergenerational phenomenon, productions have embraced inclusive themes, but until a few years ago, it wasn't common to see scenes of homosexual relationships on television. Films like Brokeback Mountain, a movie that achieved immense success and whose plot revolves entirely around the love story of two cowboys, have been broadcast by Rai with various cuts: the first time it was aired on Italian screens, in 2008, the sex scene (where no nudity is shown) and an embrace were removed. At the time, the company explained that there was no censorship, that «a series of coincidences» had resulted in only the cut version being approved, and that they would schedule a replay without cuts, but two years later, the film was aired without showing any kisses between the protagonists.

Similar incidents have occurred in recent years as well. In 2011, the episode "Romeo and Romeo" of the German series A Cyclone in the Convent was cut, a choice that according to then Rai 1 president Mauro Mazza had been made to avoid controversy on a theme «that couldn't be trivialised,» while in 2016 Rai 2 removed several gay love scenes from How to Get Away with Murder, leaving in scenes of violence and heterosexual relationships. That year, Rai faced the intervention of the series' lead actress, Shonda Rhimes, who rebelled against the censorship by asking Italian fans of the show to point out every cut, but Rai 2 director Ilaria Dallatana explained that there had been «simply an excess of modesty due to the individual sensitivity of those who edit the series for prime time.» Following the event, the series was aired in its original version. The last case of censorship by Rai of an international program occurred in 2021, when an «I love you» between two men in Supernatural was translated as « I care about you.» In that case too, the actor involved, Misha Collins, showed his disdain for the company's stylistic choice, stating «Love is love» in a video on social media.

Despite the aforementioned incidents, several Rai series deal with the theme of romantic relationships between gay couples. From A Big Family to A Place in the Sun, passing through A Professor and The Student, there are numerous programs that include homosexual characters. As author Chiara Sfregola explains to Il Post, Rai has changed a lot in recent years, having learned to embrace diverse and controversial themes such as gender identity, marginalization, and mental health. It all depends on the target audience the content wants to address. «I think it's normal that Rai 1's audience, much older, is addressed differently, although there have also been cases of programs that have brought gay kisses and LGBTQ+ stories to television there,» adds Sfregola. Like in marketing, the language and imagery used by television programs respond to the demands of the viewer, a logical explanation that, however, doesn't answer the main question that social media users asked after seeing the scene with the black hat in Gloria. Why broadcast programs with "controversial" themes if they are then filtered?