Good or bad, as long as it's talked about, they used to say. A maxim that is somewhat less true today, in an era where reputation is everything. Supersex, the Netflix series inspired by the life of Rocco Siffredi released on 6 March, has certainly been talked about a lot, thanks to the over-the-top performance of lead actor Alessandro Borghi, but above all because of the problematic remarks of the porn actor, director and producer from Abruzzo.
The latest harassment
There is no need to go over the recent case of Adnkronos journalist Alisa Toaff's complaint against Siffredi for sexual harassment from the beginning. However, it should be noted that the “incriminated” audios sent by the porn star to the woman, besides being full of sexism, are the mirror of a personality in conflict with itself. Who first makes unsolicited appreciations, then insults and then apologises, often using confusing and lame phrases. Besides the expression “top woman” as a compliment.
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Coming (perhaps) to the end of the story, the rapprochement between the two facilitated by Iene was a cringeworthy moment, in which Siffredi's suffering and his difficulty in managing emotions emerged. He is seen crying, self-accusing himself and kicking and punching a wall, before sketching an explanation: 'I'm an asshole, I cry because I'm an asshole. The problem is that I'm perpetually depressed, I go to the set to vent,' says Siffredi. "My blood boils, I felt like telling her 'go out and get dicks' because I felt betrayed" he adds, before denying in any case that his words could constitute harassment.
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Problematic episodes
Another controversial episode that Siffredi has repeatedly recounted has also been much in the news in these days of controversy. It concerns oral intercourse with allegedly a 70-year-old friend of his mother's on the day of her funeral. And from the way he tells it, it does not seem to have been consensual. This anecdote, exaggerated and romanticised, also appears in the series.
@basement_bsmt Rocco Siffredi ci ha raccontato la verità sull’episodio spiazzante accaduto dopo i funerali della mamma e che ha visto protagonista una conoscente della mamma, quindi una signora abbastanza anziana. Episodio completo: LINK IN BIO #roccosiffredi #funerale #vergogna #dietrolequinte ♬ Stories 2 - Danilo Stankovic
An earlier video, also filmed a lot recently, captures Siffredi in 2006 during a French TV programme: Le methode Cauet. On that occasion, invited to show some live sex positions, the porn star had 'used' actress Cecile de Ménibus to mime them, rubbing himself on her, groping her and pulling her underwear out of her trousers. De Ménibus said years later that she had not consented and accused him of continued sexual harassment even in the dressing room.
A controversial image
Perhaps for the series it is all free publicity, true to the maxim, but for Siffredi the same cannot be said. In particular, many young and very young people are discovering, or rediscovering, Siffredi's more controversial exploits in this way, entrusting social media with their criticism, especially regarding the actor's relationships with women.
It must be said, however, that he himself has never hidden his problems with depression and sex addiction. On the contrary, he has spoken openly about them in various interviews. In Belve, in 2022, he told of having had dark periods in which he could not stop thinking about sex, and in which he went with 1,000 prostitutes, but also with men and trans people.
While admitting that he never resorted to a psychologist, he said that his wife stood by him in the most difficult moments and that thanks to his family he eventually managed to build a healthier relationship with his work. Due to his own problems, however, Siffredi has quit acting several times, the last one two years ago.
Flag of Freedom
Apart from what has revolved around Siffredi and Supersex, the most original and appreciated part of the series are the sentimental formative years of Rocco Tano (Siffredi's real name), who went from Ortona to acting in more than 2,000 films around the world, passing through an unbridled period in sexy, libertine Paris.
An intimate tale of revenge in which a fundamental element is freedom, as Borghi himself said, calling Siffredi "a banner" in the country "where it is more difficult to talk about sex".
Supercafone
Rocco has won his challenge to bigotry by becoming part of the international erotic imagination and a myth for those who grew up in the 1980s and early 2000s. As such, no amount of harassment, shooting or slipping can erase him now, but going from Supersex to Supercafone for the new generations is very easy.
Illustration by Gloria Dozio - Acrimònia Studios
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