Silvio Berlusconi bunga bunga satires ‘censored by media bosses’

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

A film series mocking former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s infamous “bunga bunga” parties is being censored by his media empire, the actor who played him has claimed.

Toni Servillo, who played Berlusconi in Loro and Loro 2, said the films were being buried by the late leader’s media company Mediaset after it bought the rights to them six years ago.

Released in 2018, the films depict the tycoon enjoying “bunga bunga” parties – details of which tarnished Berlusconi’s political career.

But the films - widely available in France, Germany and Britain, have not aired on the company’s channels since then and are unavailable on Italian streaming platforms, The Times reported.

“The films are available on the French, German and British markets,” Mr Servillo explained in a video interview.

“Clearly, the film was purchased by those who have no interest in it being seen in Italy,” he added in the exchange with Instagram star Dario Moccia.

Found in 1993, Mediaset, part of the Fininvest holding group chaired by his daughter Marina Berlusconi, has tried to ensure his legacy does not decline into caricature since his death.

Lorenzo Castellani, a politics professor at Luiss university in Rome, said that Berlusconi’s legacy was being carefully curated because it was an “asset” to the Italian right, with the Forza Italia party, which he founded in 1994, continuing to use the sobriquet “President Berlusconi” on its official logo.

“He is a big personality who left his mark on the country,” Prof Castellani told The Times. “That makes him a powerful brand.”

It has continually promoted his name and in July honoured him with advertisements marking the anniversary of his death.

Berlusconi led governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011, becoming the longest-serving postwar prime minister of Italy.

In 2013 he was sentenced to four years in jail for tax fraud, false accounting and embezzlement tied to his media empire. He died of cancer and was given a state funeral.