CELEBRITIES
Why are Italian police investigating Kanye West and wife Bianca Censori?
Rapper West and his wife are being probed by law enforcement in Italy for violating “standards of public decorum” while in Venice.
Kanye West and wife Bianca Censori have been in the spotlight on several occasions in recent weeks, for reasons such as Censori’s attire and the emergence of images showing the couple out for a barefoot stroll.
On top of all that, Italian authorities are now looking into an incident in which West was captured on camera baring his buttocks while on a boat taxi in Venice. In the images, which came to light last week, Censori could also be seen kneeling in front of the rapper and placing her head in his lap.
“A lack of respect for Venice”
Police are reportedly investigating the pair for violating “standards of public decorum”, a law-enforcement source told the newspaper the Daily Mail.
“The images of West with his trousers down while in a taxi as he and his partner crossed the lagoon were seen all over the globe,” the Mail was told.
“You could clearly see his trousers were half down and we have received complaints from people who witnessed it. Now we have identified the driver of the boat and we will be asking him what he saw as well.
“The images show the couple clearly in a state of intimacy and if the local prosecutor decides to press charges then we will notify the couple, most probably through the relevant embassies.
“The offence being investigated is acts contrary to public decency which is punishable by an administrative sanction.”
Venice’s councillor for public security, Elisabetta Pesce, told the Mail that West and Censori’s actions are “a lack of respect for Venice”.
Venice boat company bars Kanye and Censori
The police investigation comes after the Venetian boat firm Venezia Turismo Motoscafi banned the couple for life over the incident.
In a statement given to Daily Mail Australia, the company said: “On board, the driver had to keep a lookout for traffic and did not see these obscenities. If this had happened, he would have immediately disembarked and reported the transgressors to those in authority.”
Venezia Turismo Motoscafi concluded: “We completely dissociate ourselves from such acts and behaviour. Mr. West and his wife will certainly no longer be welcome on board our company’s boats.”