The documentary series “Paparazzi King” by Fabrizio Corona, an Italian media personality known for capturing the precarious moments of celebrities, will be available worldwide on Netflix starting January 9th. The news comes as a prominent paparazzi makes headlines after leveling accusations of sexual misconduct against the host of local reality show Big Brother.
Corona, who has been implicated in many of Italy’s most sordid scandals over the past two decades, claimed on his YouTube show “Farcissimo” in December that “Big Brother” host Alfonso Signorini “ran a system of sexual favors” for several contestants in exchange for appearing on “Big Brother.” Mr. Signorini has vehemently denied Mr. Corona’s accusations, but he has fired back by accusing him of “revenge porn” after paparazzi showed “Farsissimo” viewers private text messages and images involving Mr. Signorini and a former “Big Brother” contestant.
Italian prosecutors in Milan have opened an investigation against the “Big Brother” host on suspicion of sexual assault and extortion after former “Big Brother” contestant Antonio Medugno took legal action against Signorini following Corona’s accusations. In short, a Milan court is currently investigating separate charges brought against each other against Corona and Signorini, who maintain their innocence.
Meanwhile, “Big Brother” Italian broadcaster Mediaset announced on December 30 that Mr. Signorini had been voluntarily “suspended” from his role at the network while his sexual abuse charges were pending. Mediaset is reportedly looking for another host for the Italian version of Celebrity Big Brother, scheduled for March.
Endemol Shine, the Banijay-owned company that maintains the “Big Brother” format, said in a Dec. 26 statement that it has “initiated the necessary internal audits to ensure compliance with the code of ethics and procedures governing the selection of contestants for the program.” The company also said it would “take all action against anyone who may have caused damage to the reputation of this format and the honor of those who have dedicated their professionalism to the format’s great success over the years.”
Corona, who is covered in tattoos, has been jailed several times in Italy for blackmail and extortion related to photographs of celebrities, most notably Italy’s 2007 so-called Vallettopoli scandal, which involved showgirls who appeared on Silvio Berlusconi-era Mediaset shows, as well as TV and film actors, soccer players and politicians.
This latest scandal caused by Corona is certainly a good time to promote the Netflix documentary series.
“Communication genius or shameless manipulator?” asks promotional materials for Netflix’s “Paparazzi King.”
The five-episode show “covers the Berlusconi era, the rise of social media, and the contradictions of Italy’s judiciary, and is not intended to be a biography of the ‘Paparazzi King,’ but rather an unfiltered portrait of a country that has become indistinguishable between reality and reality TV from the 1990s to today,” Netflix added.
