"Corona Pizza" French Private Broadcaster Sparks Controversy Mocking Italy's Surge in COVID-19 Cases

A video released on the French private broadcaster Canal+'s satirical current affairs show Groland. It showed a chef preparing a pizza and spitting green saliva onto it, along with subtitles reading "CORONA pizze" and "Covid19" written in the colors of the Italian flag: green, white, and red. Photo by YouTube capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] A French private broadcaster has sparked controversy by airing a 'Corona Pizza' advertisement reminiscent of Italy, where the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is spreading.

Local media, including the Italian daily La Repubblica, reported on the 4th (local time) that the French private broadcaster Canal+'s satirical current affairs show 'Groland' aired a video that seemed to mock Italy.

According to reports, the video showed a chef preparing a pizza and spitting green saliva onto it.

The video also included subtitles in the colors of the Italian flag?green, white, and red?such as 'CORONA pizze' and 'Covid19,' along with narration stating "A new Italian pizza to be launched worldwide."

The video has been interpreted as mocking Italy, which has the highest number of confirmed cases in Europe, causing controversy.

Luigi Di Maio, Italy's Minister of Foreign Affairs, criticized the video, saying, "Even if it is understood as a satirical program, mocking the Italian people suffering from COVID-19 in this way is very rude" and added, "It is unacceptable."

He continued, "Respect for others is especially required at sensitive times," emphasizing, "The media has an 'ethical duty' to prevent the spread of rumors."

Teresa Bellanova, Minister of Agriculture, stated, "This is disgraceful and terrible. This is not satire but an insult to the entire nation," pointing out, "As various institutions in Europe and other countries have stated, COVID-19 is not transmitted through food."

The Italian Parliament also urged the broadcaster to apologize immediately.

As the controversy spread, Canal+ apologized, calling it "a bad joke," and took measures such as deleting the video from rebroadcasts. The broadcaster also sent an apology letter to the Italian ambassador to France.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters as of 9 a.m. on the 5th, Italy's cumulative confirmed cases stood at 3,087, with 107 deaths reported among them.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.