When Luigi Di Maio, Italy’s foreign minister, returned to Rome from a vacation on the island of Sardinia, it took little time for Italians to notice his deep tan. By Aug. 25, images and memes featuring Mr. Di Maio in a form of blackface appeared across the Italian web. One of these instances depicted Mr. Di Maio as a Black migrant on a crowded boat. Instead of criticizing the images, Mr. Di Maio embraced them, sharing some on his own Instagram account, including the ones of Mr. Jordan, Totò and the Huxtables. I promise that next summer I will put on 50 SPF sunscreen,” Mr. Di Maio wrote in a caption under the images.

Source: New York Times August 28, 2020 01:52 UTC