Amid an ongoing feud with singer Elton
John, Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro says he wants to ban Gay Pride
parades in his city.
“There will be no gay pride in
Venice,” Brugnaro told La Repubblica on Wednesday.
“Let them go and do it in Milan, or
in front of their own homes,” he added, describing such events as
“a joke” and “the ultimate in kitsch.”
Brugnaro's comments come amid an
ongoing feud with John, who is raising two sons with his husband.
Shortly after taking office in June,
Brugnaro removed 49 books from Venice's classrooms. After more than
250 Italian authors protested by asking for their books to be
withdrawn in solidarity, Brugnaro shortened the list of banned books
to two: Little Egg by Francesca Pardi and Jean Has Two Moms
by Ophelie Texier, both of which deal with same-sex families.
In an Instagram post, John criticized
Brugnaro, calling him “bigoted.”
“Beautiful Venice is indeed sinking,
but not as fast as the boorishly bigoted Brugnaro,” wrote John, who
owns a house in Venice.
During Wednesday's interview Brugnaro
responded to his critics and described John as “haughty.”
“The family with two women and the
little boy is unnatural,” he said, before adding that he has gay
friends.
A Gay Pride parade is being planned for
the city in 2016.
“Brugnaro wants to turn the city into
a symbol against LGBT rights,” Fabrizio Marazzo, a spokesman for
the Gay Center, told the International Business Times. “We
would like Elton John to open the parade.”